Thai Kinam,Crassna Cha,Oudh Ishaq from ENSAR

#21
It is a beautiful oil Oudiferous, this oil is (ghareeban) a stranger, Oud Ishaq Al Ghareeb!!!

Here we are 24 hrs later as I edit this post to report that Oud Ishaq, although has faded on my skin, is still riding strong on my beard with that sweet figgie, toffee and maple syrup accord rising every now and again up to my nostrils and leaving the smell of the primordial in every room I enter inside of my home!
 
#24
i am not familiar with Caramel ya Abdullah, but Oud Dhul kifl is similar to it scent wise, the only difference is that Oud Dhul kifl is almost instantly sweet where Oud Ishaq took a journey through the woodland to get to that sweetness! I have to spend time with Oud Dhul kifl, because this is another beautiful Thai/Cambodian oil...
 
#26
Yup, Oud Dhul Kifl is from Ensar, the same region as Oud Ishaq! Oud Dul Kifl is Oud Ishaq's little brother to my nose without the maple accord. It has spice and it has life!
 
#28
Oud Ishaq is the primordial Thai/Cambodi Oud. It has something for every type of Oud lover out there from opening to dry down. Oh yeah I broke a personal record by having it last in my beard for 3 days through washing and showers. It is in it's final stage now with a peppery/green cannabis smell!
 
#30
It was a milestone ya Abdullah! I just showered and rubbed the back of my hand under my beard to see if the scent is hanging around and 4 days later it is still there haha Alhumdulillah! Also I conditioned my beard with Wen conditioner!
 
#31
Carssana Cha one of 3 Ouds I received today and my dilemma was which one to try first so I figured I'll take a sniff from the cap. So I went sniff, nice, sniff, great, sniff...what is that sniff again, lo and behold what a green vapor-y smelling oil was my first thought. I apply freely as I am thinking to myself that I understand why it's called Carssana Cha "Experiement" because it is an experiment. It is not like any oil I have smelled so far, for a starter it has absolutely no fecal or Barnyard scent and no fruity a la Cambodie Overture. Instead it green, minty and vapory like a great aftershave of days bygone. You feel refreshed, young and minty/camphor-y. This vaporous cloud seem to envelop the person softly without any challenges to others around (I said a put it liberally and I was still in the office). And yes it has that Kinam-y signature that I am note sure whether it is the result of the type of wood used or the style of the distiller. The profile is unmistakably Thai. Another unusual feature here is the drydown phase which in reality is not a drydown by any mean because it is just a continuation of the same green vapor-y scent but now fading in the distance (4 hours later). If I haven't read the Blog I would have guessed that this is a steam Distillation because of the high notes and lighter body but this got to be one of the cleanest Hydro distillations. I also find it ironic that Ensar called the wood Fecalicious because the Oil has 0 fecal notes :) This is a great oil for morning and action. day light and sun shine even though it is a dark color oil which is another matter. Agaraura Bengali oil was dark amber/brown oil, one of the darkest I have seen. Crassana is Dark green touched by a golden ray. It is a mystical darkest green from which the vapor arises. Very high in my likability scale. I wonder what time will do it. Make it deeper? mellower? it's going to be very tough to stay away and not be tempted to use it very often (I'll have my wife hide it without telling me where :) )
 
#34
I just realized I have samples of Oud Dhul Kifl and Oud Ishaq. My nose is having some trouble with fine tune smelling due to the dry weather and pollen here. I'll try and give some reviews if anyone wants them when my nose clears a bit.
 

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#35
Not sure I understand your question, masstika. You say 'how come we don't see oud wood' then you say 'are there no more distillers'.... Oud wood doesn't come from distillers, rather distillers use it to make oil. :)

But I get what you mean. There is no oud wood coming from Cambodia save a few sorry unearthed batches here and there – and they go for muchos dineros. They are not worth the price, if you ask me, and I'd rather distill from cultivated wood in Thailand, which ensures a future for oud, as it improves on what is there, and what can be there in the future, if the right measures are taken now. It gives us something to work with. Whereas to go digging for buried wood, not knowing what and if you'll find anything, does not sound like a very promising prospect to me.

You may well cut the last wild trees standing in Borneo, but how does that guarantee oud fifteen years from now? Whereas if you work to perfect cultivated oud now, fifteen years down the line we could be looking at some serious juice! At least that's how I see it.
 
#36
Thanks Ensar for the explanation. I figured if there was good Oud wood in Cambodia then most likely there will be good distillers:). So I wasn't sure the reason behind the absence of actual Cambodian harvested chips and oil by default from your collection. I am all for cultivation especially after I have seen for myself with your Ouds what can be done. But what I had really meant is can you truly call an oil a "Cambodie" if it came from a Thai harvested Agarwood forest/plantation? Is what makes an oil say Cambodie, Malaysian or Thai matter of distillation style and technique or the agarwood itself have to be harvested from Cambodia or that specific region/country?
 
#37
Masstika, I've wondered this myself. But I've sort of assumed that "Cambodi" is being loosely used to refer to the scent profile, rather than the actual source-location of the wood/oil.
 
#38
I posed the question to Micah, Oudimentary and he was kind enough to provide me with his opinion on the question and here's what he said "Thanks for considering me for the interesting question! Our ksss is distilled in Thailand with Cambodian wood. In my experience, no one would sell Thai chips distilled "Cambodi Style" as Cambodi oil. I am of the camp that says the wood has to be for the country the oils says its from. Thai wood, Thai oil. Cambodi wood, Cambodi oil. To me, the method of distillation or location doesnt matter.".
 

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#39
One need not be a Derrida scholar or a lecturer on Deconstruction in order to realize that the political border between Thailand and Cambodia is an imaginary, man-made contraption that does not have any founding in Nature. It does not exist. The area where Trat is located could hypothetically be conquered by Cambodia; would it then be legitimate to say Trat oud oil is 'Cambodi'? Or vice versa, Koh Kong could be overtaken by Thailand; would the oud that is now legitimately 'Cambodi' suddenly become Thai oil?

Rather, what matters is the style and distillation method of the artisan. If these Thai distillers have built their entire systems around producing the hallmark 'Cambodi' fragrance, is it fair for me or Micah to come along and say, 'Your oil is in fact Thai, not Cambodi'?

From the same aquilaria crassna trees that Oud Yusha was produced (which according to Taha is 95% identical to his Cambodi) we produced Crassna Cha – the spiciest, greenest, most zesty oud imaginable. This is an oud I would wholeheartedly call Thai. But as for Yusha, and Yusuf, and Angkor, for me they've always been and will remain 'Cambodis'. And that is the 'camp' of the distillers, of the major Gulf houses, and others the world over for whom 'Thai' oil is practically non-existent (i.e. because it's all 'Cambodi').