SOTD

5MeO

Well-Known Member
I have bought full bottles of oils based on reviews of noses that I trust, and still got disappointed several times over. Sampling is the best!.......because we are all unique individuals.
That’s why it’s great to be in a circle of friends where we send each other samples. I have tried many oils that way;)

As for today, I thought I’d see how my bottle of Hudhayl is aging.....,......,....no major change. Maybe some Hindis age slowly but surely. That’s how I can see them lasting 50 to 100 years and still be great.
Meanwhile, no barny kick from Hudhayl, but it does have some intriguing notes. Next time I’ll heat some of the wood when I do another swipe.
This is a really nice oil, I enjoy it quite a bit - there's a lovely nutty and spices element to it - and I like the way the non-barnyard notes are easily discernible.. It is also, however, that oil made from the Hudhayl wood, that most who posted appear to agree is farmed wood not wild wood - and if so this Hudhayl oil is misrepresented as being wild.. If I recall, a good while back Ensar stated that he thought the ASO oil "Al Shareef II" was made from farmed Thai wood rather than the wild Malaysian wood that ASO claimed.. Ensar took quite a bit of flak for that.. If this here is all true about the Hudhayl wood/oil then, well, it is interesting to look back on that Al Shareef II debate...

I'm no expert on this topic, but I would imagine that fermented Hindi type oils are easier to misrepresent as wild because the fermentation creates such a strongly altered smell, that the scent of the wood it was made from is quite distorted/covered up..
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SOTD for me is "Blue Malayu" from Feel Oud.. I received a couple small free samples of this with 2 different orders placed many months ago, and sort of overlooked it.. Just yesterday I came across these samples, and noticed that they were still fairly viscous/not too oxidized - took a swipe, and was quite delighted! So delighted that I took great pains to get as much of the oil out of those vials and into a .1ml v-vial - only fills about half the v-vial but that should preserve this oil very well, compared to the quickly oxidized fate of small amounts of oil in sample vials..

Anyhow, this Blue Malayu is over in the general ballpark of oils like Ayu, Darul Aman, Sumatra Q-TIQ - it has this flamboyant marine blue floral/fruity quality, very distinct from the floral/fruity quality we associate with other types of oud.. It's like florals from another planet or something, almost doesn't smell (to me), like anything that would have come from a tree.. The oil has benefited from aging, with a mellow, plump, and earthy quality to balance out the audacious top notes..
 
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Simla House

Well-Known Member
@Simla House
i love to read your honest impressions of hindustan 1. i know it was one wear and a tiny one, but do pls share your thoughts with all of us.

i studied it again last night and once again while it is a very different oil to any and all hindi (minus chugoko if you are ok with calling it hindi) and some may call it avant garde and extra terrestial oil, i find it utterly fascinating and objectively speaking of very high quality and true hindi. the coumarin, the hay, the countryside but more alpine country side (swiss farm?) is what i see.

sure there is the signature pristine top note of taha here, but there is depth too. like royal malinau. tons of depth in fact. it is not as radical and obvious of a progression as lets say ORSL or kinam rouge or many of ensar's oils, but there is still progression nonetheless which in my eyes suggests the fractionation practice is not holding true here.
I should have really started taking notes after that first swipe, even though I exclaimed “I should do this right away”, but then out came the Sutera Sumba, the Kuzen, the Nha Trang, the Kyara Ltd 2.0, the Port Moresby, the ASO woods, the woods from Zakir bhai, the new sticks from Kyara Zen….etc etc etc. By the end of the session I was not only fully fumigated by all of the above, but also blasted the fuming Volcano on the way out the door.
As I said the other night, if we saw Chugoko Senkoh as a multi-tiered jello cake, picture someone skimming off the top layer, isolating it, ageing it on it’s own without the influence of the base notes that one can find in CS: there you’d have my first opinion of H1. At this point I’ll re-state the caveat that Taha had to mentioned to you, for other readers: This oil is not yet ready to be presented in the way it is intended to be, and needs another month or so. I commend you for wanting taste of H1 in it’s infancy, to study the progression. With that in mind, we’ll no doubt see the EQ tweaked on this one.

As far as H1 being an “al-Hind” style oil, my younger self would have said no way. My experience with oud stems from collecting the classic Assamese profile while living in the Sub Continent, but since I’ve come to this artisanal style of cookery, I’ve been dazzled again and again by what is possible, and have been floored by the presentation of some absolutely first class hindis.

For purists who only like their al-Hind done a certain way, then H1 might be a challenging piece of art. Is Hindustan 1 a hindi oil?? I have no idea. These days I’m not sure what is what. Ensar and Taha have turned the source wood into liquid architecture, maybe liquid mandalas. In-fact, there is so much creativity happening from all the vendors I’ve tried, it is indeed a good time to be alive; a bit of a renaissance, if you will. Do I like it? Yes. What I can recall about Hindustan 1 is that I immediately found comparisons to the ethereal vapours and flavour of Chugoku Senkoh. Not an exact replica or attempt to be, but perhaps a first cousin. The smallest portion was extremely potent, it was humming 6 hours later with only a slight progression into warmer and upper mid-range notes. Bright, otherworldly, shimmering like the aurora borealis, purple quartz coloured tart berries....

I love progressive art as much as I love the classics. For me art is a living, evolving medium. Otherwise what do we have? Just museum pieces? Re-runs? Photocopies?
The current oud scene seems reminds me of a murder of cawing jazz fanatics.
“jazz is dixieland!”
“no, jazz is big band!”
”nope…west-coast bop or go home”
“shadaap! ….post-bop rules!”
“hell no, give me the new york loft scene!”
“I only listen to Cecil Taylor played at half-speed, man”
“modern jazz exists only in Scandinavia”….etc etc etc

Sniff ‘em if you got ‘em, live and let live, enjoy the beauty of this brief life we’ve been given by The Most High. Mind your adab and cultivate it. Apologies for the meandering babble.

*The opinions stated in this post are my own, and I am not liable for any lost time down any rabbit holes*
 

kesiro

Well-Known Member
Excellent write-up Simla! I really enjoyed reading it. My experience with the Hindustan has only been on several good wearings but what I get is a top to bottom prism of layered scent elements which to my nose cover the essence of Hindi agarwood. With the remarkably crisp mountainous air and the haunting blue note which faintly teases you if you wait for it. The oil has a crisp clean profile but in no way does it lack the deep and animalic aspect many of us adore Hindi Oud for. It is unmistakable Hindi Oud. Yet, it is so sophisticated. This oil is appropriate for a classy night on the town, and certainly special occasions.
Would I reach for it when I crave some serious barn style Oud like OZ? No, simply put. But this oil is a stunning achievement , and as I mentioned before, rewards patience and careful study.
 

Simla House

Well-Known Member
Excellent write-up Simla! I really enjoyed reading it. My experience with the Hindustan has only been on several good wearings but what I get is a top to bottom prism of layered scent elements which to my nose cover the essence of Hindi agarwood. With the remarkably crisp mountainous air and the haunting blue note which faintly teases you if you wait for it. The oil has a crisp clean profile but in no way does it lack the deep and animalic aspect many of us adore Hindi Oud for. It is unmistakable Hindi Oud. Yet, it is so sophisticated. This oil is appropriate for a classy night on the town, and certainly special occasions.
Would I reach for it when I crave some serious barn style Oud like OZ? No, simply put. But this oil is a stunning achievement , and as I mentioned before, rewards patients and careful study.
Thanks, Doc.
I only wrote something because Rasoul requested it. I really didn’t have adequate time with Hindustan 1 to offer a valid opinion, plus I was testing several other oils at the time and fumigated from chips on the burner. I’m very thankful to have had the chance to sample it, as it’s a special distillation, and I’m sure will sellout quickly given the small quantity available. Looking forward to you and Rasoul sharing your thoughts on this oil as you both spend more time with it.
 

Oudamberlove

Well-Known Member
I spent all day at work thinking about a blend.
So when I got home I tried it.
I placed a swipe of Assam Organic Meghalaya beside a tiny swipe of Oud Dhul Q, then blended the two on my skin.
The top notes were fighting.....then later, near the heart phase, there was some agreement, nice!
Then there was some Cambodi dominance like K by EO, but followed by surprise after surprise of yummy notes. The Thai was practically a no-show. I would like to repeat this again.
 

Shabby

Well-Known Member
Today I continue my daily tradition of slathering myself with People’s Ceylon. An excellent oil for the price, and it gets better with every application.
 

kesiro

Well-Known Member
So here is the thing, the only way @Ensar could have smelled the H1 would be because the oil is so vaporous and lively you can smell it from KL all the way to Singapore. So I am calling the bluff.
 

kesiro

Well-Known Member
The only thing I don't do is bluff, doc. If anyone is bluffing here, it's you. ;)
So lets put aside the hypothetical that I know who got samples of H1 and when. By your own words regarding Chugoku Senkoh from it's EO page (The absence of accessory notes (flowers, honey, fruits…) is deliciously evident in its unitone note of resinous vapor), it would be illogical to agree with Simlas comments if you truly tried the Hindustan 1. For those that have spent any considerable time at all with the H1, (and I know Simla did not get a chance to do that), the conclusion would be exactly the opposite. The layered cake is H1 and Chugoku is just one layer, (although a perfect layer). I would trust someone of your oud sniffing experience would be easily able to tell.
So no, I am not bluffing.
 

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
So lets put aside the hypothetical that I know who got samples of H1 and when. By your own words regarding Chugoku Senkoh from it's EO page (The absence of accessory notes (flowers, honey, fruits…) is deliciously evident in its unitone note of resinous vapor), it would be illogical to agree with Simlas comments if you truly tried the Hindustan 1. For those that have spent any considerable time at all with the H1, (and I know Simla did not get a chance to do that), the conclusion would be exactly the opposite. The layered cake is H1 and Chugoku is just one layer, (although a perfect layer). I would trust someone of your oud sniffing experience would be easily to tell.
So no, I am not bluffing.
Notice I included Simla's last sentence in the quote. ;)
And he also said something about Taha saying the oil is not ready (and it is not). Perhaps you could also expect someone of my 'oud sniffing experience' to know something about the projected settling of the oil? Like the blue note not sticking around for too long? And all the flurry of vaporous top notes to settle to a more stable profile a few months down the line?
 

Rasoul S

Well-Known Member
So lets put aside the hypothetical that I know who got samples of H1 and when. By your own words regarding Chugoku Senkoh from it's EO page (The absence of accessory notes (flowers, honey, fruits…) is deliciously evident in its unitone note of resinous vapor), it would be illogical to agree with Simlas comments if you truly tried the Hindustan 1. For those that have spent any considerable time at all with the H1, (and I know Simla did not get a chance to do that), the conclusion would be exactly the opposite. The layered cake is H1 and Chugoku is just one layer, (although a perfect layer). I would trust someone of your oud sniffing experience would be easily able to tell.
So no, I am not bluffing.
Gentlemen and sisters
We are brothers. We are all Oud lovers. Passion runs high cause we just love this substance so much. Pls. Let’s all keep decorum and remember how these posts of our will come across to newbies and future prospect members. I beg of u all.

As for the oil in question: Hindustan 1, I respectfully and humbly and appolegeically disagree with my great brothers: Stefan and ensar. Allow me to explain. Yes. It is a given that Taha’s oils have that insane top note and some or many ride that till the end. To my nose au luong, ayu would be prime examples of that. BUT oils like Hindustan like philipina 1 or royal malinau aside from their insane top note opening have a terrific base/heart. Yes I see Hindustan 1 opening a more accentuated and magnified cool mountain air hay blue sky thing and yes chugoku is more complex on the opening BUT the development is there and this oil goes places after application and waiting few hours. It is soooooooo good. Let’s pls give credit where it is deserved. Protoge is challenging el maestro. We see it happen in professional sports all the time. The master shouldn’t feel threatened but should feel proud. We all win. Let’s celebrate it all. How freaking awesome is to have such huge range of styles even in one sub category of hindi oils!!!

Brothers, Sister. Pls breathe. Pls enjoy. Pls remember this is a public space.
 
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