Hello Everyone
I couldn't help but notice we've now got 6 different oudhs in the store.
So here's a little bit about them.
They are all from Laos or Assam, India and all bought by me personally from the distillers on location.
They are all real, uncut, pure and natural agarwood oils.
If you want to read more about these oils, please check out my blog.
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What is agarwood?
Agarwood is a really rare, very costly, extremely geeky oil that comes from trees of the Aquilaria species. The trees themselves are not so rare, but the oil can only be made from wood that has been infected and has then created the resin/essential oil in defence. Because no one really knows how to manipulate the trees to form this resin, (even though many are trying,) supply is extremely limited!
Agarwood is a real specialty, and doesn't appeal to most Western people. It's the ultimate acquired taste. Maybe it's a little like Sea Urchin, Durian, Kimchi or Caviar. It's what some people call a "base note," all deep dark woods, earth and tremendous tenacity. There's a lot of odd sounding notes in there too, like "barnyard" and "fecal." Before you get wiggy though, you should know that jasmine also has a fecal note. It's what saves it from insipidness.
Agarwood is one of those oils that perfumers love, and there is a growing subculture of oudh mavens around the world. Oudh is most popular in the Arabian Gulf. In the rest of the world it's an underground speciality.
So this newsletter is just about oudh.
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Lao Super
Fortunately we have a
nice little stash of this guy, because once he's gone, he's gone. This
oil is from wild trees. The notes are symphonic and deep, and plays
like an orchestra. There's barn and there's pepper, with tobacco flower
and old attic captured in deep rich loamy earth and honey. This oil
holds together tight and taut, tingling my teeth and tickling my
tongue.
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Lao Sompat
This is our answer to a new superior Lao oil. This is the oil we are betting on for the future, to be available regularly. We hope. He is a very complex oil, with a rich, fruity top and underlying dirty, earthy balsamic body. As he evolves, deep rooty forest comes in, with plenty of mud, water and then pepper and tobacco. This oudh then opens up and out, flowing in delight.
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Lao Keo
Here is the other new Lao contender for Super but he is very different indeed from the others. He is fruity and fecal, with lots of higher top notes and black cherry cordial coming in. He has an interesting rich and rotten undertone, aided by a strange sweet note, which is quite exciting in a sensually forbidden way.
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Lao Boyah
Boyah is actually what we used to call "cultivated" agarwood. It's the distilled white wood, with no, or very little infection. This is the wood that solidifies at room temperature. If your oudh is solid, it's Boyah. Strictly speaking, although Boyah is agarwood, it's not Oudh. It can be of any quality, though. This is a nice one. He smells wild and spazzy, with dirt, mud, fecal and pepper all screaming for attention. The body is bright and as he unfolds he reveals many of the same notes found in Sompat.
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Hindi Super
This is our top oil from Assam, in India's Northeast. The watchwords for this oil are soft and sweet. Warm balsam joins in for an overall fantastic harmony. The trees in this part of Assam infect themselves; no need for human interference so this might be reflected in the happy and cohesive energy of this oil. All in all, this delicious essential oil is long lived and maintains his delightful soft woody integrity the entire time.
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Assam Boyah
In the far reaches of Upper Assam most families grow a few agarwood trees in their yards. Home distilleries are still the rule. And this oil is done is one such small family still. Sharp smoke and acids leap to the forefront of this unusual, unruly, very fecally oil. He is rank and robust, a bit smoky, and very seductive in a sneaky way.
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Wood chips
We didn't forget the wood either. In the store at the moment we have wood chips for your burning pleasure from Laos, Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia and now India.
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