Khao Yai: One Month Later
Both batches of Khao Yai are still available, with only two bottles of the second remaining. Each is unique, and an incredible oud in its own right. The second is quite ‘oudy’ with the most pronounced Cambodian incense note I’ve ever smelled. A heart of carnation, with a pinch of clove, atop an uncanny ethereal bottomless greenness. Notes of ylang ylang with a buttery heart that keeps you inhaling to find out what it is. As you breathe in the bottomless depth of the bouquet you forget that this is pure oud you're smelling. It's a maze of aromatic chords and notes all in harmony with one-another that keeps you guessing what the note you just sniffed out was, only to be dazzled by a new note that appears. To my astonishment, the depth and pitch and overall quality far outstrip even the original Oud Royale. (Not an overstatement.)
The first batch is in a class all its own as an uncanny aromatic comparable to the rarest floral extracts used in high class perfumery; yet it’s so complex and layered it’s a complete ‘perfume’ by itself. Notes of guava and blue lotus are pronounced throughout the scent’s life, with a spicy top note and a heart that is redolent of the gentlest white rose. That oud could smell like this hadn’t even occurred to me in my wildest dreams...
It’s beyond oud. Smelling it fills one with wonder and regret about all the other ouds that could’ve been done this way and just weren’t, out of sheer carelessness, or ignorance, or lack of inquisitiveness on the distillers’ part.
Khao Yai marks a new beginning for oud. An end. And a beginning...
Both batches of Khao Yai are still available, with only two bottles of the second remaining. Each is unique, and an incredible oud in its own right. The second is quite ‘oudy’ with the most pronounced Cambodian incense note I’ve ever smelled. A heart of carnation, with a pinch of clove, atop an uncanny ethereal bottomless greenness. Notes of ylang ylang with a buttery heart that keeps you inhaling to find out what it is. As you breathe in the bottomless depth of the bouquet you forget that this is pure oud you're smelling. It's a maze of aromatic chords and notes all in harmony with one-another that keeps you guessing what the note you just sniffed out was, only to be dazzled by a new note that appears. To my astonishment, the depth and pitch and overall quality far outstrip even the original Oud Royale. (Not an overstatement.)
The first batch is in a class all its own as an uncanny aromatic comparable to the rarest floral extracts used in high class perfumery; yet it’s so complex and layered it’s a complete ‘perfume’ by itself. Notes of guava and blue lotus are pronounced throughout the scent’s life, with a spicy top note and a heart that is redolent of the gentlest white rose. That oud could smell like this hadn’t even occurred to me in my wildest dreams...
It’s beyond oud. Smelling it fills one with wonder and regret about all the other ouds that could’ve been done this way and just weren’t, out of sheer carelessness, or ignorance, or lack of inquisitiveness on the distillers’ part.
Khao Yai marks a new beginning for oud. An end. And a beginning...