Wild or cultivated ?

[ibn]

Is oud from wild trees better than oud from cultivated trees ?

Is oud from wild trees that have been naturally infected better than oud from wild trees that have been artificially innoculated ?

Is it possible to say that one oud is BETTER than another ? What are the pros and cons ? Internet narratives on this subject are confusing and conflicting.

Please submit your thoughts and experiences.

 

[Oudiferous]

I've devoted time to making a few blog posts on this matter. It is ultimately a more complex consideration than the question implies. It is not black and white at all.

In brief, I would say (from my limited education in following Ensar's recent excursions into this realm) that it all comes down to the quality of the wood and the age of its infection, as opposed to whether its wild or cultivated, or how it was inoculated. The inoculation and form of cultivation does seem to have an impact, but I believe Ensar has clearly proven that organically cultivated Oud wood can yield oils equal to and potentially even superior to wild Oud that was distilled in a similar fashion.

Even wild Oud is not a guarantee of anything, if you distill it poorly, and don't have attention for the level of details and nuance that the distillation process truly commands (if your intention is to truly produce a work of art). So distillation is another core factor that alters the oil's profile and quality more than we can imagine. In some sense, that is more significant than whether the wood is wild or cultivated.

The questions I would ask are: How old was the infection? And how was the wood distilled?