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Oud Bengal Tobacco
If I had to sum up this oud in one sentence it would be this: Fermented Tobacco.
Some ouds are meh. And some are pretty. This one is neither. It’s deep, powerful and polarising, in the way that only a traditional Hindi can be.
Distilled in Sylhet in early 2020, this is a dark oud oil that opens up with strong notes of tobacco and woods riding a wave of mild ferment and barn.
As the scent progresses, a dash of spices and toffee soon become discernible somewhere alongside wafts of leather and earth. The dark and lightly sweet notes remain until the drydown, reuniting once again with tobacco and fresh wood as the scent fades away into the horizon.
Note:
- This is a traditional Hindi oud distillation which I would recommend for lovers of such profiles. However, if it’s your first time experiencing a traditional Hindi, please note that barnyard, animalics and cheesy notes form part of the profile, and while it’s an acquired taste and can be very beautiful to some, it can be quite challenging for those unacquainted with it.
Reviews (11)
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Aceh Flora
A sensually green, zero-soak, wild oud oil from Aceh province in Indonesia, Oud Aceh Flora is a sweet, floral, and minty green beauty that reflects, in my mind, the flora of the jungle from where it hails, hence the name.
Swiping on the arm, it opens up with a strong blast of all shades of green: bright, grassy, mentholic, minty, jungly and vetivery notes, all accompanied by what reminds me of the powdery scent of rice flour, and perhaps a soft whisper of vanilla in the background.
Softening and sweetening as the scent progresses, this exquisitely bright, sweet and sour red cherry emerges, weaving in-between the soft vanilla and dark green jungles to produce what some may call a cola vibe that is simply beautiful.
Overall, however, this remains a dark green jungle-type oud which, alongside the gorgeous red cherry note mentioned earlier, also has floral, leathery, vetivery, mossy and even an almost dark, diesel-like facet to it which is hard to accurately describe, but makes it a fascinating oil in any collection.
Choron
Hailing from the ancient cradle of oud, this is a special 2018 co-distillation of incense-grade oud collected from various regions of Al Hind and beyond.
Artisanally distilled, with a short soak, low temperature cook, and several years of ageing now, it’s transformed into a beautifully balanced and rounded profile over time: A very refined Hindi oud full of character and depth, and yet void of all things animalics and barn.
As a high-grade Hindi, this can easily be called Kalakassi, but that term is actually a misnomer: an inaccurately-used label that’s often attached to top-drawer Hindis nowadays for marketing purposes*.
*(Kalakassi actually refers to one of the shapes of Hindi oud (wood). When a piece of oud is large and concave, i.e. resembles the shape of a banana leaf, it’s classified as Kalakassi, but that has no bearing on its grade or how resinated it is, simply its shape).
And hence, I decided to forgo this name for Choron instead, the Bengali distiller’s name for oud shavings. And not any shavings were used here; but the highly resinated shavings of wild, incense-grade oud. And the result is this gorgeous beauty…
Ultra-smooth, buttery almost, and complex, it opens up with a waft of soft incense, spices, and gentle tobacco around its beautifully dark Hindi oudy core.
As the scent develops, it gains slightly in sweetness, molasses now perhaps, contrasted by tobacco, woods, spices and leather, with a hint of hay and a clean barn somewhere in the distance, before eventually descending into a soft woody and spicy drydown.
Choron is most definitely not a loud Hindi oud roaring with animalics and barn, but it also isn’t a squeaky clean new-gen lacking in complexity and depth. Instead, it’s perhaps what many of its namesakes would love to be: A beautiful, delicate, tightrope walk between the two that shows you what Hindi oud, done right, can be.
Golden Sylhet 2021
Every once in a while, you come across an oud oil that just stops you in your tracks. It demands attention. This is one of them.
As an oud oil distilled from old wild trees from Sylhet and nearby regions, you know it’s going to be a complex Hindi oud. What you smell however is not just complex, but a sweet, leathery, barny, and smoky Bengal powerhouse that is truly captivating.
The scent opens up with an intensely rich sweetness reminiscent of overripe fruits and honey, wafting in-between layers of strong animalic leather and barnyard.
As it progresses, the exquisite sweetness is replaced by a warm, spicy, smoky, and barny leather which comes to the forefront, holding centre stage before eventually reaching a sweet woody drydown.
Gorgeously warm and radiant, if this scent had a colour it would be gold. The sweet, golden, rays of sunrise penetrating the dense jungles of Sylhet, waking its inhabitants to another day in the wild.
Notes:
• Please note that is the new 2021 batch. The image will be updated shortly.
Malinau Hijau
When it comes to the world of oud, there’s a rare shade that catches the eye.
Hijau as they call it in Malay. Akhdarr. Green. The shimmering jade of the oud world that’s as rare as it sounds and always a treat.
But not all green gaharus are the same of course. There’s the green oceanic marine of the Ceylons, the green cola-jungle vibes of the Acehnese, and the green bitter-cacao incensiness of the Meraukes.
And then there’s this hijau.
Where the other greens dive with you to the dark depths of oceans and incense-laden jungles, this takes you very much in the opposite direction. Up and up for a breath of fresh air, high above the waves and wilderness, and up into the cotton-candied clouds of Malinau’s air.
It doesn’t smell of cotton-candied clouds, of course (?) but opens up instead with a beautiful airiness, a soft powdery cloud of bergamot-like citrus alongside wildflowers and honey, all underpinned by the tiniest hint of violet leaf’s green powderiness in the background.
With time, this incredible opening slowly settles and gains in sweetness, slightly resembling to me the tart and powdery scent of raspberries, or a mysterious narcotic floral of the tropics, before eventually arriving at its sweet green oudy drydown.
Artisanally distilled from high grade wild Malinau oud, the result is nothing short of sensational. One waft of this will tell you all you need to know about why true Malinau is one of the most sought-after profiles of Borneo - itself replete with many other treasured regions - and why its gorgeous old gaharus are only getting rarer with every passing year.
Les –
Umran –
Super fast ,Excellent service and packaging,Ouds are beautiful will buy full bottle, wish I can buy all full bottles of samples send,very generous.thanks mohammad
Jesser –
All of the oils are very good quality with well described affordable samples. Impressed with this approachable seller.
KHAYAM –
Really pleasant oud, after the initial high uplift the oozing comfort settles down to an appealing foray of tantalising scents, floral underscore and a quirky edge.
Lesley –
Arrived within the week. Thick, good quality. Interesting mulitilayered aroma.
Bilaal –
Breath taking scent that last for a long time
Umid (verified owner) –
Kevin –
Oud de très bonne qualité
Nasra nasra –
MASHALLAH the oud oil soo pure best oud oil fully satisfied and thanks for the complimentary samples,,i love ❤ both my oud oil May Allah bless u always Ameen
Paul langton –
Another great oil, I am always pleased with ashworth oud purchases
Deva Priya –
Incredible quality, aroma & service. Thankyou 🙏🏽🤍