Cheers tim. Happy to hear. Ty.
I too am eagerly awaiting the poropriate time to get me some maroke ceylon.
How do you find aceh candan opening and progression? Like all stages?
Personally I still struggle with to my nose a strong pond/algae/ small confined floral shop scent in the opening. The build up is nice. The drydown of a dirtied up violet and even darker floral note is a treat actually.
Aceh Candan is one of my favorites. I appreciate your description since I find it hard to describe these most complex of fragrances. And yes I like it from beginning to end. I broke it out to since I heard it is maybe the closest analog in my collection to EO Oud Royale Maluku about which I'm very curious. A curiosity that apparently never ends as I am now coming up on my second anniversary of my first Oud experience.
An inspired hipster at a local metaphysical shop down the coast in Melbourne (FL) launched my interest with his descriptions of these magical rainforest trees that yielded the most incredible fragrances known. This led to an internet search where the You Tube "Scent of Heaven" got me started. My first purchase was some wood from Oudimentary and at the time I wasn't interested in the oils. I though it was all about the "incense". Then on You Tube I found some of Nikhil's descriptions of Ensar samples he was reviewing. His descriptions which included adjectives such as "psychedelic" and thoughts that he would almost trade all of his fragrances for just a few bottles of artisan oud got my attention! The day after ordering some burnables from Oudimentary I found Ensar's website and after reading about his products a passion was lit.
My first order was 3 g of Oud Yusuf, oud resin, and .3 samples of Taigo Senkoh, Jing Shen Lu, Oud Dhul Q, Khmer Xtreme, Green Papua, Tigerwood 1995. Also included was a sample of Xiang Liao Ling. Subsequent orders included bottles of all the aforementioned. My first taste was a dab of Khmer Xtreme under my nose and off I went on my bicycle to the gym to work out. I couldn't believe the magic of that moment which continues to this day.
These moments in my life were akin to my discovery of "Highwaymen paintings" on December 23,1996 in a shop called Collector's Corner in Cocoa Village. Though the itinerate black artists from the Fort Pierce (FL) had been plying their trade since the mid 50's I had only had occasional sightings of their paintings in my, at that time, 19 years living in Florida's Space Coast area. In that shop were dozens of these paintings that the proprietor had found at garage/estate sales and purchased from some of the artists. Their inexpensive prices (at that time), their variety, and the fact that they painted and sold by a group of roughly 2 dozen black artists struck a chord in me. The next morning I was at Sam Newton's home buying a couple. The olfactory sensation of still wet oil paint on freshly cut Masonite board next to a real Christmas tree was something I'll never forget. The next weekend was a talk in Vero Beach which featured the Florida art historian, Jim Fitch, who had coined the name "Highwaymen" and heard a dozen or so of the artists tell their story. Over the next few years my searches led me up and down Florida's east coast, to some of the early dealers and eventually online. Over the next 2 decades I bought a number of these paintings and I presently own about 100. I became good friends with Gary Monroe and have worked with him on his 5 books which are the definitive works on the subject. Of the 26 Highwaymen that have been inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame about half are still living and I have been blessed to know most of them.
So I have this personality that if i love something I tend to go all out. For approaching 42 years I've worked as an electronic tech at Kennedy Space center in a variety of launch support positions (launch system computers, telemetry, voice comm, TV Station audio and most recently Timing & Countdown).
The scent thing has really taken me by surprise with it's lure to my soul. I study the writings and descriptions from Ensar's website and Oudville, of which many inspire me, especially Rasoul and have tried to organizationally get a handle on all the different ouds, attars, santals, woods, incenses and florals I have so fortunately acquired. I've tried to organize my collection via spreadsheets by origin, age, cost, type, and make them last by using a constantly changing variety of small amounts applied under the nose or on mustache.
When I consider my previous passions, some have passed, like macrobiotics, Porsches (had some older used 911's but now love my "green" Hyundai Ioniq hybrid), distance running (knee problem), promoting Super Blue Green Algae and as a kid, baseball cards. Of course some are still with me: Music, many favorite artists (i.e Grateful Dead iTunes playlist from CD's (several hundred shows) would take 38.6 days played end to end), 31 years of daily Super Blue Green Algae, nutritional awareness ("foodie") and physical fitness.
At this time I'm still reporting to work. While I'm not at work we're sheltering in place so I found the time to express some things I've been wanting to share. Hope it's not TMI.
If you want to friend me on facebook just request such from Tim Jacobs.
Prayers for the planet. Prayers for the end to this worldwide plague. Prayers for the afflicted, the first responders, the medical teams, the grocers and those keeping civilization moving forward. Prayers for the restaurants and small businesses and those out of work that all may be made whole again after this enforced time out. Amen.
Yesterday's SOTD:
Morning and during the day: Kyara Ketone (Thank you, Ensar for making this magnificent oil available.)
Evening, including breezy sunset bike ride: EO Xiang Liao Ling (I adore this Maroke). After two years .3 sample vial needs refilling.
Soundtrack: Mark Knopfler "Golden Heart"
Today's SOTD: Writing inspired by EO Maroke Ceylon. A joy to breath in deeply. Papua '02 on the low temp burner.