Thai Kinam,Crassna Cha,Oudh Ishaq from ENSAR
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It's difficult to compare these directly since TE2 is almost twice as expensive as TK which is more than twice as expensive as CC. Of course price difference is only a reflection of the oil's percieved quality or uniqness, but still...
For whatever it's worth - TE2 is a great oil, I think I even prefer it to TE1A, it's bolder, punchier and has a Kyara Koutan - like vibe to it. TE1A reminds me of Kyara LTD but is a little too understated and quiet compared to TE2 which is more vibrant and vivacious. Considering how fresh TE1A and TE2 are is I can only imagine what they would smell like in a year or two. Haven't tried TK and CC yet, hope to get some TK soon.
For whatever it's worth - TE2 is a great oil, I think I even prefer it to TE1A, it's bolder, punchier and has a Kyara Koutan - like vibe to it. TE1A reminds me of Kyara LTD but is a little too understated and quiet compared to TE2 which is more vibrant and vivacious. Considering how fresh TE1A and TE2 are is I can only imagine what they would smell like in a year or two. Haven't tried TK and CC yet, hope to get some TK soon.
Just got this review on Oud Ishaq:
"This is one of those troglodyte oils that always make me laugh. An ugly gnome with a huge nose and warts on his chin wears clothes made out of otter skin and alligator shoes. He lifts up a secret door on the edge of the swamp and burrows his way underground, dragging a sack full of parsnip root and turnips behind him. After squeezing through a narrow passageway, at long last he arrives at a large room wallpapered with sodden copies of the New York times. Cattails stick their heads through the windows, bullfrogs rest comfortably on the pantry shelves, a bed made from a hollowed out cypress branch leans against a dripping wall and wads of moss are stuffed here and there in a futile attempt to keep the stodgy water from seeping through the cracks. Sometimes the puddles on the floor are so thick he can actually walk on top of, instead of through, them! I hope he doesn't stay down there too long. Wouldn't a breath of fresh air feel rejuvenating after breathing in all that dampness?"
"This is one of those troglodyte oils that always make me laugh. An ugly gnome with a huge nose and warts on his chin wears clothes made out of otter skin and alligator shoes. He lifts up a secret door on the edge of the swamp and burrows his way underground, dragging a sack full of parsnip root and turnips behind him. After squeezing through a narrow passageway, at long last he arrives at a large room wallpapered with sodden copies of the New York times. Cattails stick their heads through the windows, bullfrogs rest comfortably on the pantry shelves, a bed made from a hollowed out cypress branch leans against a dripping wall and wads of moss are stuffed here and there in a futile attempt to keep the stodgy water from seeping through the cracks. Sometimes the puddles on the floor are so thick he can actually walk on top of, instead of through, them! I hope he doesn't stay down there too long. Wouldn't a breath of fresh air feel rejuvenating after breathing in all that dampness?"
I was astounded at the review of Oud Ishaq. Not sure if this was some sort of 'defense mechanism' detecting 'Thaqeel wanna-be' and hence recoiling in horror, repulsion, and anything but acceptance, but the oil in that vial is no less than – Thaqeel's great grandfather.
There are only two ways to get a 'thaqeel' (lit. 'heavy') oil. Either by exposing the oud to air for a decade or so (al Haramain does this; the owner himself has shown me, and explained: 'If you put the cap on, the thickness will not come' – and they, along with Oudh al Anfar, are among the suppliers of Arabian Oud & ASAQ); or by having it distilled by a renowned Thai distillation wizard, who's been researching distillation as an art and as a science for the past 25 years.
In 2010 alone, he built then took apart and rebuilt his entire distillation facility (which is by no means small), because he was not completely happy with the outcomes in the scents. This is, as you may have guessed by now, the man behind Yusha / Angkor. This is the universally acknowledged inventor of the 'thaqeel' method, and Ajmal's key supplier over the past decade. (Last month alone, Ajmal ordered 700 tolas from him!)
And Oud Ishaq is no less than his private stash of wild kien-distilled exclusive Chanthaburi raw materials; the distillation dating back to June 2008. The trees were 40 years old, all collected from one small mountain in Chanthaburi Province. Yield: 30 tolas.
Now, why the shock, on both our parts (the reviewer's and mine) when we first encountered Oud Ishaq? (For I was no less repelled, and astounded, and puzzled to make its acquaintance.) Because this is not the scent we are all used to associating with 'Cambodi' – which is as a rule cultivated. This is what wild Thai / Cambodian ouds smelled like, believe it or not. This is the hallmark wild Thai oud scent (the Cambodi could be darker). But no fruity business. No Thaqeel, Koh Kong (Taha), Yusha, Caramel, Angkor notes to be had in wild Cambodis & Thais!
The investigation of these things is all well underway with our current experiments, which you have been acquainted with via the videos. But for now, I could not let this 30 tolas pass us by. It is an 'archival' quality distillation; it points to a unique mountain in Chanthaburi Province; and it was produced by one of the greatest artisans in the region, who is widely hailed as an educator on distillation.
There are only two ways to get a 'thaqeel' (lit. 'heavy') oil. Either by exposing the oud to air for a decade or so (al Haramain does this; the owner himself has shown me, and explained: 'If you put the cap on, the thickness will not come' – and they, along with Oudh al Anfar, are among the suppliers of Arabian Oud & ASAQ); or by having it distilled by a renowned Thai distillation wizard, who's been researching distillation as an art and as a science for the past 25 years.
In 2010 alone, he built then took apart and rebuilt his entire distillation facility (which is by no means small), because he was not completely happy with the outcomes in the scents. This is, as you may have guessed by now, the man behind Yusha / Angkor. This is the universally acknowledged inventor of the 'thaqeel' method, and Ajmal's key supplier over the past decade. (Last month alone, Ajmal ordered 700 tolas from him!)
And Oud Ishaq is no less than his private stash of wild kien-distilled exclusive Chanthaburi raw materials; the distillation dating back to June 2008. The trees were 40 years old, all collected from one small mountain in Chanthaburi Province. Yield: 30 tolas.
Now, why the shock, on both our parts (the reviewer's and mine) when we first encountered Oud Ishaq? (For I was no less repelled, and astounded, and puzzled to make its acquaintance.) Because this is not the scent we are all used to associating with 'Cambodi' – which is as a rule cultivated. This is what wild Thai / Cambodian ouds smelled like, believe it or not. This is the hallmark wild Thai oud scent (the Cambodi could be darker). But no fruity business. No Thaqeel, Koh Kong (Taha), Yusha, Caramel, Angkor notes to be had in wild Cambodis & Thais!
The investigation of these things is all well underway with our current experiments, which you have been acquainted with via the videos. But for now, I could not let this 30 tolas pass us by. It is an 'archival' quality distillation; it points to a unique mountain in Chanthaburi Province; and it was produced by one of the greatest artisans in the region, who is widely hailed as an educator on distillation.
So how would you describe Oud Ishaq, Ensar? I can understand the unique significance of such a specimen but since we want to enjoy our oils (even though the study aspect is invariably a part of the experience too), does Oud Ishaq draw you towards it with anything other than being completely different from what we now know as Cambodi oud? I suppose all the imiagery of that hilarious review and your use of the word "repelled" is making me wonder if Oud Ishaq is to be enjoyed or is it to be admired as an artifact of the bygone era and a testament to the distiller's unique skill?
'Repelled' is only to the degree that everything novel and out of the ordinary we encounter perplexes and throws us off. From my personal experience, I don't think you, or I, or the brilliant reviewer, are in a position to judge how much we like Oud Ishaq – or Encens Khmer – or Thai Kinam – or Bhavana – yet! As I said in a long-ago and far-away blog entry:
I observe the changes with the greatest alacrity in my Ouds on a daily basis. Most of the time, I find myself awaiting or predicting a change in any given oil, before it actually happens. I live with each oil in the future tense, predicting, expecting, hoping, rather than experiencing it the way it currently smells. At the same time, I understand that these changes must necessarily occur in me first and foremost. It is the change of intimacy. Like two newlyweds who need a few years before they fully get to know each other, so the Oud and its wearer puzzle and mystify each-other upon first acquaintance.
In a very weird sense, Oud has a consciousness. It knows what you expect from it, and it changes to reflect your expectations; or does it? Berkeley would say the entire thing happens in the consciousness of the perceiving subject, without any objective reality. I say the Oud is alive. With the spirit of the One who created it; the Unchanging who effects every change.
I am still hopeful oud lovers will reconsider passing judgment this early on in the acquaintance stage with oud oils. I maintain that oud is an acquired taste; and so does everyone else. I further hold that oud is not only acquired as a 'category' of scent; rather each and every oud oil is an acquired taste in its own right..... Cambodi Caramel did nothing for me when we first got it. By the time it sold out, I was wearing it several times a day. Just to give one example.
OUD ISHAQ
Ishaq radiates a suave and smooth presence with fine ethereal sweet woody notes that include tea, frangipani and neroli like nuances. Out of all the citrus flowers, linden blossom comes to mind. The narcotic spicy floral notes of golden champaca scintillate throughout the scent's evolution, permeating its woody character with a radiance rarely found in pure oud oil.
If you could imagine linden blossom as a base note ... or if you've ever smelled raw musk deer (the unopened sack, laden with warm musk grains, still pulsating with life) ... or if you've tasted raw, pheromone-heavy mountain honey from Hadramaut ... or ingested ambergris-smoked chai in Morocco on a summer evening, the scent of frangipani gently intertwined with even gentler citrus blossoms in the air ... you'll find something to be reminded of in Oud Ishaq.
Out of all the ouds I've come across, this is the one I'm most tempted to save for use in oud parfum compositions. It has a body and a presence that would ground and fixate heart and top notes, imparting life, depth and incredible tenacity.
Heavy, exotic, slightly pungent-woody, powdery, with a creamy, fruity, toffee undertone.
When all is said and done, this is pure wood. The animalic aspect is very much present here, but devoid of heavy indol notes. Pure deer musk & ambergris intertwined in what is likely the longest lasting oud ever distilled. It is powerfully addictive, and in no figurative sense of the term.
I observe the changes with the greatest alacrity in my Ouds on a daily basis. Most of the time, I find myself awaiting or predicting a change in any given oil, before it actually happens. I live with each oil in the future tense, predicting, expecting, hoping, rather than experiencing it the way it currently smells. At the same time, I understand that these changes must necessarily occur in me first and foremost. It is the change of intimacy. Like two newlyweds who need a few years before they fully get to know each other, so the Oud and its wearer puzzle and mystify each-other upon first acquaintance.
In a very weird sense, Oud has a consciousness. It knows what you expect from it, and it changes to reflect your expectations; or does it? Berkeley would say the entire thing happens in the consciousness of the perceiving subject, without any objective reality. I say the Oud is alive. With the spirit of the One who created it; the Unchanging who effects every change.
I am still hopeful oud lovers will reconsider passing judgment this early on in the acquaintance stage with oud oils. I maintain that oud is an acquired taste; and so does everyone else. I further hold that oud is not only acquired as a 'category' of scent; rather each and every oud oil is an acquired taste in its own right..... Cambodi Caramel did nothing for me when we first got it. By the time it sold out, I was wearing it several times a day. Just to give one example.
OUD ISHAQ
Ishaq radiates a suave and smooth presence with fine ethereal sweet woody notes that include tea, frangipani and neroli like nuances. Out of all the citrus flowers, linden blossom comes to mind. The narcotic spicy floral notes of golden champaca scintillate throughout the scent's evolution, permeating its woody character with a radiance rarely found in pure oud oil.
If you could imagine linden blossom as a base note ... or if you've ever smelled raw musk deer (the unopened sack, laden with warm musk grains, still pulsating with life) ... or if you've tasted raw, pheromone-heavy mountain honey from Hadramaut ... or ingested ambergris-smoked chai in Morocco on a summer evening, the scent of frangipani gently intertwined with even gentler citrus blossoms in the air ... you'll find something to be reminded of in Oud Ishaq.
Out of all the ouds I've come across, this is the one I'm most tempted to save for use in oud parfum compositions. It has a body and a presence that would ground and fixate heart and top notes, imparting life, depth and incredible tenacity.
Heavy, exotic, slightly pungent-woody, powdery, with a creamy, fruity, toffee undertone.
When all is said and done, this is pure wood. The animalic aspect is very much present here, but devoid of heavy indol notes. Pure deer musk & ambergris intertwined in what is likely the longest lasting oud ever distilled. It is powerfully addictive, and in no figurative sense of the term.
Thanks for the beautiful write-up, Ensar. I agree, that each oud is a unique case of an acquired taste and that the ajustment happens both in the oil and the wearer. I've witnessed this change in myself numerous times when I approached an oil that previously didn't speak to me and even though the length of time that had passed since the previous attempt was nowhere near enough to actually affect the oil itself to change - my perception would be radically different, sometimes to the extent of being a shock - how could I not have smelled this before? (Just happened to me with Angkor the other day, and yesterday again with Thai Encens 1 which suddenly opened up its honey aspect to me) Sadly, sometimes this apparent change in my own perception or the ability to see the different facets of a given oil is not always present. And at times I seemingly regress to an earlier state of awereness, unable to appreciate or even percieve whatever delicate intracies wowed me in a particular oil before. Ouds are like music in a way - one has to be in the mood to enjoy a particular composition and no melody works on the same person in exactly the same way every time.
I can't wait to try Oud Ishaq and will post my impressions when I do.
I can't wait to try Oud Ishaq and will post my impressions when I do.
Abdullah, I received Oud Ishaq today after jummah and I am taken aback at the thickness and the first two words that my wife said when smelling it was "wow, Wow". The opening is strong in a good way to the point that with every deep breath I felt a coolness deep into my lungs, sort of like what vicks or tiger balm would do if inhaled deeply. I applied Oud Ishaq about 3 hours ago and here is where I arrived, I get an image of myself sitting in my fathers home town of Macon, Georgia on the back porch of an old 18th century slave house (I am half African American/Native Blackfoot Cherokee, my dad is a Native) in a rocking chair facing the woodland. A woodland filled with cedar and maple trees with oak moss all around. This oil feels and smells old, the primordial goodness. Spicy like the scent of Oud chips before being placed (khao yai because this is the wood in front of me and I'm smelling it now without heating it) on the burner, Woody, Sweet, Maple trees after a nice rain fall is what I get in that order as the oil progressed settling with a figgie maple sweetness!
Thoughts of a novice!
Thoughts of a novice!