Patchouli, India

There's vetiver, and there's vetiver. And then there's time. Time is an often overlooked ingredient in natural perfumery. When I first smelt this I instantly stopped what I was doing and listened. I listened intently. It was so rich, lush and mesmerisingly beautiful. This is how vetiver should be. It's not that there's anything outlandishly unique about it. Quite the opposite in fact, it's just an excellently soothing vetiver. For vetiver fans, you'll know that not all vetivers are equal of course: some are too rooty and earthy, others too smoky and leathery, and others yet too light and watery. But this to me is perfectly balanced. Opening with fresh grassy and sweet green hues, its lush notes are beautifully contrasted with dark, earthy and leathery qualities that keep everything in beautiful harmony. Distilled at the end of 2018, this is by no means an old batch, but it also isn't new. Much like oud, sandalwood and a few other oils, vetiver improves with age, and the 3+ years this has spent ageing has really rounded it off into the exuberantly rich oil it is today. To me, this is a benchmark of how an excellent wild North Indian Ruh Khus should smell. I present to you: Ruh Khus 2018.   Collection:  Kannauj Chronicles In the Kannauj Chronicles, I explore and share with you the wonderful natural oils and attars of India’s historic perfume capital, Kannauj. The oils in this collection are pure botanical extracts and attars distilled in sandalwood oil by some of Kannauj's most renowned and trusted artisans, who share our passion for distilling the highest quality of aromatics and attars. These attars are distilled using the ancient ‘deg and bhapka’ apparatus; a traditional distilling method largely unchanged for 400 years. I hope you enjoy these breathtaking scents of nature from a bygone era, an era fast being forgotten in today's race towards modernity and industrialisation at all costs.

Comparable in profile to the Madagascan variety, yet sweeter and lighter, this low-temp Javan distillation opens with a gorgeously sweet earthiness that's simply a joy to behold. While not quite out-and-out floral or vanillic, it carries wonderful hints of those facets, intertwined together with earthy, woody and lightly smoky notes that all combine to create an incredibly beautiful and balanced opening. As the scent progresses, it gradually becomes more tobacco-like, with dry-earthy, smoky, and astringent nuances - akin to red tea - as the sweetness recedes and its darker facets come to the fore - lasting for many hours with typical tenacity. Overall, this is an incredibly complex oil that can be worn alone or used in blends, and a great example of just how beautiful vetiver can be.