Yep, he sure did! We were in a bit of a rush so I'm not sure if Ensar would remember which one was which, but I certainly do remember because Ensar specifically asked if I had any of the NG oil I had sent to you (i.e. NG No.1). He smelled a total of 4 Filaria oils and was surprised by how perfumey they all smelled (particularly the NG No.1 and the Sultan's Succor trial batch).
You're quite right actually... and in fact, its not just a concern with the resin component (i.e. in contrast to the 'living' oil component) but even more so an issue with the wood component, i.e. the non-agarwood (non-oil, non-resin) compounds which are components of the wood itself — many (most? all?) of those are non-volatile compounds.
The reason this can be an issue is because if the wood selected is not incense-grade, then you run the risk of extracting a bunch of wood compounds some of which aren't even aromatic (e.g. oleic acid). The absolute first trial batch I did was with Malaysian kayu minyak grade wood, and the oil came out so oily, it literally seemed like oud diluted in a viscous carrier oil. What will end up happening with lower grade wood is that even though the yield may go up (1.5x in this particular case), the % concentration of aromatic compounds in the oil goes down.
The opposite holds true for super high grade wood. Dunno if you remember, but you practically jumped back when I opened up one of the jars containing an argon-sealed oil (about 1ml in a 500ml container, sitting in there for over 2 years)... it was that intense. So by simply bumping up the grade of the wood, you actually get not only a higher yield, but a richer yield.
Also, since the technique specifically targets the resin, you can typically cook the wood at a temp 5°-10°C lower than usual (and THIS by the way is why I always soak wood before distillation... it allow the heat to be directly targeted at the oleoresin, and at a much lower temp).
No doubt! In fact, ALL oils that I hand cook myself smell a certain way. Not only is that my claim, but you observed that as well, as have others who've tried a bunch of my Syed Series oils.
And so, since my method makes the oleoresin more 'sensitive', I think it would actually make EO oils 'even more EO'... if that makes sense.
Hmm, I'm now more tempted than ever to do a distillation in your presence, next time you visit. Since you know the various stages of distillation (and what affects what, in terms of the final oil's aroma) very well, you'd then be able to easily discern how it would all fit into the EO model. You'll just have to figure out during which stage of the process you'd want to visit... that is, unless you want to be camping out the entire time (ahlan wa sahlan, even in that case!).
Any how, I gotta rush to the airport in a couple hours, off to Borneo to prepare the team for the next gaharu hunt. Oh dear... I have a bad habit of typing up long posts at the most inappropriate times.
You're quite right actually... and in fact, its not just a concern with the resin component (i.e. in contrast to the 'living' oil component) but even more so an issue with the wood component, i.e. the non-agarwood (non-oil, non-resin) compounds which are components of the wood itself — many (most? all?) of those are non-volatile compounds.
The reason this can be an issue is because if the wood selected is not incense-grade, then you run the risk of extracting a bunch of wood compounds some of which aren't even aromatic (e.g. oleic acid). The absolute first trial batch I did was with Malaysian kayu minyak grade wood, and the oil came out so oily, it literally seemed like oud diluted in a viscous carrier oil. What will end up happening with lower grade wood is that even though the yield may go up (1.5x in this particular case), the % concentration of aromatic compounds in the oil goes down.
The opposite holds true for super high grade wood. Dunno if you remember, but you practically jumped back when I opened up one of the jars containing an argon-sealed oil (about 1ml in a 500ml container, sitting in there for over 2 years)... it was that intense. So by simply bumping up the grade of the wood, you actually get not only a higher yield, but a richer yield.
Also, since the technique specifically targets the resin, you can typically cook the wood at a temp 5°-10°C lower than usual (and THIS by the way is why I always soak wood before distillation... it allow the heat to be directly targeted at the oleoresin, and at a much lower temp).
No doubt! In fact, ALL oils that I hand cook myself smell a certain way. Not only is that my claim, but you observed that as well, as have others who've tried a bunch of my Syed Series oils.
And so, since my method makes the oleoresin more 'sensitive', I think it would actually make EO oils 'even more EO'... if that makes sense.
Hmm, I'm now more tempted than ever to do a distillation in your presence, next time you visit. Since you know the various stages of distillation (and what affects what, in terms of the final oil's aroma) very well, you'd then be able to easily discern how it would all fit into the EO model. You'll just have to figure out during which stage of the process you'd want to visit... that is, unless you want to be camping out the entire time (ahlan wa sahlan, even in that case!).
Any how, I gotta rush to the airport in a couple hours, off to Borneo to prepare the team for the next gaharu hunt. Oh dear... I have a bad habit of typing up long posts at the most inappropriate times.
