SOTD

Original sultani, kannan koh, twr, tw90 all have that aged round musk and liqueur thing about them.

purple kinam is unique. Many of Taha’s gen 3 oils are totally unique.

perhaps the ones that take the cake as most single handedly individual and unlike anything else are:

ensar sultan series (codistil NG woods with that unreal sweet sour cooling and tickling note)
Taha hindustan 1, ayu, au luong
Imperial shah jahn (don’t have words for this one)
Hashimi adan original (for its intense brown butter note)
Thanks akhi, you’ve definitely given me some stuff to keep an eye out for

re: sultan series I got in at the tail end of all that, the only one I’ve smelled is Salahuddin which is nice but not in my top 10 favorite oils. There are so many and they’re all pricey, it’s hard to make a leap and spend on something you haven’t smelled. Are there 2 or 3 standouts or “most unique” ones?
 

Rasoul S

Well-Known Member
Brief first wear impressions of couple new EO oils:

2019 green papua
Wow. Anticipation was high. Expectations even higher. They are met and exceeded. Very much the dna of previous GPs. That unique spice the mild sweetness the green profile too. I would say 80-90% same oil. 2014 vintage has gained liqueur like notes is a bit spicier, a good bit sweeter and more heart and base notes. The 2019 is fresher greener and has a lovely cooling opening. Gorgeous stuff and a major major quality price ratio oil. How can any one beat this?

maroke ceylon
Starts as 100% walla to my nose. Not any walla. Close to sri serene’s profile of perfume, mimosa and floral/aquatic profile. I keep looking for maroke element but don’t get it. Some 20-30 minutes later a subtle woody green and darker note greets you but not enough to have me guessing maroke or even png/archipelago origin. Just like a deeper walla like OrSl. Even at the full drydown stage is still all about the mimosa/floral and that blue profile. Granted there is a deeper base and more woody note. Perhaps the maroke element (not diesel or damp or wet note as ensar clearly mentioned that is not the maroke profile you will find in this oil) will come out better with age. anyways, truly a terrific oil. Sale price is very attractive. If you are looking for a gorgeous walla this is it. I look forward to second and third wear in coming days/weeks and see if I can coax maroke element in it better.
 

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
Oud Ahmad last night. What an incredible piece of my collection. Most of my oils have their own flavor but you can draw comparisons to another oil if you’re trying to describe it to someone. i.e. “it opens with the smokiness of ER85 but the dry down is more like Sultani 90.”

Not so with Ahmad. It’s just absolutely unique. There is no other oil like it (at least in my experience.)

Can anyone else think of past oils that are just completely their own unique scent? Always interested in adding things like that to my lineup.

Realizing we have access to the actual master here, I’m going to go ahead and edit this post and ask @Ensar Oud directly. Can you recall any oils you have distilled through the years, which just stand on their own island as something quite unlike anything else you ever concocted?
I agree with your sentiment completely. There's no Oud like Ahmad in terms of sheer uniqueness, richness, flamboyance.

Other entirely unique brews that come to mind:

Nha Trang LTD (other Vietnamese oils, mine included, make up a mere fraction of the galaxy this oil comprises)
Oud Royale 2
Purple Kinam (I dare anyone to say it resembles anything this side of the sun)
Oud Sultani
Oud Royale 1
Hailam LTD (unreleased; the Nha Trang LTD idea, applied to Hainan)
White Kinam (better than Borneo 3000 if you ask me)
Kyara Ketone (Sri Lanka????? I still don't believe it myself!)

There are many other honorable mentions, like the Khao Yai Experiment, Thai Encens Experiment (I have yet to smell anything to come out of Thailand that smells even remotely similar to either), Sultan Sulaiman, Port Moresby, Kambodi 1976.....

Ertugrul is not an oil to miss out on if you feel you missed the train on the Sultan Series ;)
 
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I agree with your sentiment completely. There's no Oud like Ahmad in terms of sheer uniqueness, richness, flamboyance.

Other entirely unique brews that come to mind:

Nha Trang LTD (other Vietnamese oils, mine included, make up a mere fraction of the galaxy this oil comprises)
Oud Royale 2
Purple Kinam (I dare anyone to say it resembles anything this side of the sun)
Oud Sultani
Oud Royale 1
Hailam LTD (unreleased; the Nha Trang LTD idea, applied to Hainan)
White Kinam (better than Borneo 3000 if you ask me)
Kyara Ketone (Sri Lanka????? I still don't believe it myself!)

There are many other honorable mentions, like the Khao Yai Experiment, Thai Encens Experiment (I have yet to smell anything to come out of Thailand that smells even remotely similar to either), Sultan Sulaiman, Port Moresby, Kambodi 1976.....

Ertugrul is not an oil to miss out on if you feel you missed the train on the Sultan Series ;)
I have to agree with the sentiments on Ertugtrul. I understood this oil more fully once I got some Kyara Ketone and White Kinam and was shocked at the echoes Ertugrul has of these oils, at a fraction of the price. It really doesn't make sense but I applaud the wizardry that crafted the aforementioned oils.

My experience of these 3 plus Suriranka and Maroke Ceylon have completely recalibrated and upgraded my appreciation of oud. The downside is that you really start to see how sub par and lacking most other oils are.
 
Many thanks for taking the time to put that together @Ensar Oud, some things to add to my “wish list” in your post. And may Allah swt accept and increase you, Adam and Thomas during these blessed nights. Your work brings some sunshine into my life and I know many others as well.

Hailam LTD (unreleased; the Nha Trang LTD idea, applied to Hainan)
The boss dropping clues up in here :eek:
 
Now for my 27th night swipe. Special oil for a special night. It will be my first ever swipe of the legend of legends. I will report back insha Allah

Edit: I’d have to say what first struck me was the perfect balance of so many facets of its profile. For me, there are the sweet oils that smell beautiful but don’t necessary feel super spiritual, and the ones like TW95 or Hainan 05 that have a sharp quality that just almost seems to bite you and activate the pleasure centers of my brain, generating waves of calm and meditation. Somehow this oil was simultaneously both of those things. As my oldest oil, it also didn’t “feel” or smell as old as my other oils from the Olde Oud shelf, I guess a testament to otherworldly wood aging beautifully. I definitely get the hype on this one!
 

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~A Coburn

Well-Known Member
Groomed with Yusufi this morning.

Of course it isn't as close to Oud Yusuf as I'd like; but the more oud I experience and the more time that passes on the more I wonder if there will EVER be another oud the likes of Oud Yusuf?!?!

The Yusufi composition smooths over 'green' notes of fresh kyen with the creamiest bourbon vanilla and Indonesian sandalwood, heightens the profile with vibrant rose and fruity grandiflorum jasmine and even gives a metallic/copper apricot twang. But sadly it's only reminiscent of the oud it seeks to commemorate. . .
 

Smelly Vision

Super Moderator
Staff member
Today I am wearing eau de brunei by Farid at LMK a very nice oil indeed but one I will likely be selling in the future to fund further purchases as I go down the rabbit hole . I get some bitterness as well as some of the sweet jungly Malay profile and I also get a touch of charred smoke. An all round enjoyable oil but one I will be moving on to expand my collection.
 

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Smelly Vision

Super Moderator
Staff member
My scent of the day is Sultan Mehmet by the one and only @Ensar Oud

By far the richest Borneo I have come across in my journey. A wonderful Vanilla sweetness combined with a resinous quality I have yet to experience in any other oil from this region. There is an earthy quality also, a wisdom in this oil that I’ve not seen in many others, I get this with Tigerwood Royal also.

It’s a quality I find difficult to put into words. Something that resonates deep inside me.

The sweet notes give the impression of warmth, like rays of golden sun making its way through the trees of a tropical jungle after heavy rainfall. The smell of the wet earthy soil, the vanilla sweetness to balance it and a resinous wisdom that you will struggle to find in other other oils from the region. A wisdom gained from resinous ancient trees that you will not be able source anymore.

Safe to say I am totally in love yet again.

Even Ensars worst enemies can’t deny the quality of his oils and that says all that needs to be said.
 

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Smelly Vision

Super Moderator
Staff member
Today I am wore Suka Cita from @Taha

A really high grade Indonesian oil.

With the smallest drop I am punched in the face with ripe banana, syrupy & creamy soda and an almost chocolatey Forest floor (not quite chocolate but the impression of it). As the oil dries down I also get some incense qualities combined with that wonderful ethereal Indonesian sweetness humming away. If I take a really big sniff I was surprised to get a green bitter almost chinese quality to the oil also?

Go easy on the trigger with this one as it will fill a room.

A great oil from Taha MashaAllah
 

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Agar Aura:Kham Lao

Wearing AA Kham Lao today, beautiful stuff. Really smells like Oud Yusuf but takes all the beautiful aspect of it to 4K. It has a golden vapor full of resinous goodness, there is a iced-white grape juiciness that comes out with a lime-green profile that is seeping through the background. It has chinese oud vibe with facets of chinese herbs with sweet and bitter medicinal characters intermingling to take you to the dry down composed of a beautiful spicy (cinnamic) incense.
 
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Aroha Kayaku 2020 is beautiful and really something, put it on, and you are in for a ride. It's very long lasting as well and will keep you company in the fall, winter and summer evenings to keep you warm. It is dark and masculine, you will be transported to an old era of darkness between the 1800s and 1900s. If there was a movie to watch with this oud it would be Peaky Blinders. If there was a setting for this oud it would be a cigar lounge or a gentlemen's rugged-club.
 

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