Assam Organic

One of THE finest oud oils for me

Smooth barn (been aging for 18 years), hay, spices (black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, clove), chai tea, and sweet Assamese Hindi oud resin. Beautiful aged Hindi.

There’s something to be said for the style of Hindi oud, it’s just so interesting to smell unfold, so captivating. It’s been years since anything barnyardy bothered me, if it ever really did in the first place. Sure, there’s barn, but there’s leather, hay, spices, woods, dried fruits, honey, and they all just keep coming and coming. Hindi oils bring my arm to my nose more often than any other style. Assam Organic has all of that. It’s beautiful to wear. – Ben, USA

What else can I say about Assam Organic that hasn’t already been said? Earthy, musky, and so pure! The musky aroma promotes energy and tranquility at the same time. We sure do enjoy it! Can’t wait to buy more soon. – Eric, USA

I got soul freeze and brain numbness when I sniffed this oil. I almost shed a tear. The opening of this oil is what Hindi and what Oud is all about. Ensar should move it to the Olde Oud section. – Ammar, USA

Something in AO restructured my whole Hindi sensing palate. It was a big let-down because my nose had been trained for years already, so I questioned WHY did I not rise above this hurdle sooner.

So I did side-by-sides with AO and every other Hindi in my collection, and AO comes out the winner each and every time.

I do believe that my personal taste is what made AO the champ “for me,” however, I think it falls a tad short of being the Holy Grail of Hindi oils. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll ever find my Holy Grail Hindi; it would be a very daunting task for sure. – Curt, USA

Well, the world of Oud is ruled by Hindi, and in Hindi domain AO is the crown, for me at least. It is like a beloved’s wrath that is, in reality, a sheer beauty. – Rai, India

Hypothetical blend of: 70-20-10: Hindi like Yunus – Burma like Zacchariya – China like Hainan 2005, or more accurately China Sayang.

This is a lot of oud. Wow. Impressive for organic and rests my unease about a possible future of no wild oud. Sure it will be a shame but if this is a sign of future of organic oud, we should rejoice.

Spiced plum cake, ginger chai being enjoyed while you off mounted a beautiful horse after a long ride. Horse sweat, old saddle leather (Zaccharriya) notes get intertwined with the afternoon snack of cake and chai. Touch ginseng bitter and Chinese dispensary notes in the heart. While not a regular wear for me and I see this come out to play in winter time for me personally, it is a very very impressive oil. No denying that. – Rasoul, Canada

This oud really does start off primordial – hay and earth. It both smells like dry hay and wet earth. But that isn’t it of course – there is a sweetness to it at the start, and the smell of savory toast. After only a couple of minutes for me, it starts turning into a deep honey. Still some of that earlier hay, but mostly a deep deep honey. Not to say that it is only sweet – imagine smelling wild honey still in the comb in the middle of the woods. All of the ouds that I’m fortunate enough to have smelled from Ensar take me to another place and another time – and this one is no exception. I like to wear it after work to relax, but it also smells great on skin outside, warming in the sun. – Matt, MA

The Assam Organic is just what I wanted – bold, beautiful barnyard notes in the opening, revealing the classic Hindi oud character with leathery hay-like notes coming through as the oil naturally progresses. – Muhammad, South Africa

Let’s rewind to not so long ago, before Ensar went organic and began his  distillation efforts with cultivated agarwood. Let’s rewind to when there were a lot more wild oud oils being offered on his website, and when there was no ‘Organic Oud’ section at all. Even before all of these recent developments, Ensar had already proved that organic oud could equal or even surpass wild oud, when artisanally distilled. And how did he do that? Assam Organic.

With Indian oils being my favorite, I do not know how I missed this one for so long. Assam Organic is truly an oil worth raving about, for many reasons. From my memory, this oil has been available on Ensar’s website for quite some time. In fact, now that I have smelled it, I’m surprised it has survived for so long, without selling out. In fact, aside from Oud Yusuf and Oud Yunus, all the oils I have reviewed have completely sold out.

I currently have a collection of wild Indian oils that I consider to be the heart of my oud collection. I feel that within those oils is the true essence of oud, its power as a fragrance, and the reason why it has been sought after for hundreds of years. And now there is Assam Organic, a cultivated Indian oil that is every bit as deep, complex, and sophisticated as the wild oils. It begs a worthy comparison.

Assam Organic opens with a delicious flurry of notes, all opening together so fast that all the individual notes fuse together to a majesty of a single primordial note that is at once whole and multi-faceted. At three years-old, it is the youngest of Indian oils I have tried, and yet the closely-bound and well-developed notes show the sign of a properly aged Indian oud. I can only begin to imagine where this oil will be a few years from now.

This oil is rich. It is deep and puzzles the senses with its playful harmony of notes. Assam Organic has a slightly fruity tinge to it that is very similar to Oud Mostafa, although not nearly as pronounced or developed. In general, the notes in Assam Organic are more of a fluid song than an orchestrated composition. Its melodiousness reveals a feminine side that is rarely found in Indian oils. I believe this is what Ensar is referring to when he writes that Assam Organic has a ‘translucency and etherealness that is only comparable to Borneo 50K’.

It is very translucent and smooth, light on the skin, as if one were wearing a Borneo oil. Usually, Indian ouds have a much ‘heavier’ and thicker feel. However, this is not to imply that Assam Organic is a ‘light’ oil in terms of fragrance and sillage. It is just as powerful, loud, long-lasting and robust as one would expect an Indian oud to be. But it has a certain finesse.

Do not be mistaken, Assam Organic is your characteristic Indian oud. Animalic, but not quite fecal. There is more of a bitter-woodiness mixed with slight undertones of grapefruit all swirling in the deeply resinous heart of the oil. Overtones of suede permeate the fragrance, just when you think it could not get any better.

It is a true testament to right cultivation and artisanal distillation that Assam Organic comes from mature 20 year-old trees that were cultivated and yet remains comparable to Indian oils from wild 80 year-old trees. This is astonishing to me.

Above all, I am quite pleased to find an Indian oil of such quality for this price. Highly recommended for established Indian Oud lovers, Assam Organic also makes an excellent introduction to Indian Oud for those who have not yet ventured into its luxurious territory. – Neeshee, HI

I have developed a fondness for the slightly feral undertones of the Indian oil, but these undertones can vary radically from company to company. Your Indian Oud strikes a perfect balance between refinement and wildness; it is a cut above any other I have experienced. – L. Nichol, NM

It’s divine! – Belinda, Australia

Just got the Assam Oud. Must say, y’all are nothing short of fantastic. You shipped it to perfection (as in I didn’t have to deal with goofy customs which is so unnecessary) and the bottle was FULL, not sort of full, not close to full but right to the top full. I appreciate integrity. It gets my loyalty.

As someone who has truly worked hard to access and use high quality packaging, I commend you on yours. It feels special, like you know you are getting something that will change how you smell (scent-wise). Macy’s can’t do that!

Now the Oud… if I ever had a past life, this Assam Oud was in it. It is so deep, earthy, musky, reminds me of some of the elements of civet. So animalistic… As an aromatherapy practitioner who works with over 350 essential oils, absolutes and CO2s, I can’t even describe all the notes that I pick up on first sniff. This is some powerful stuff. Thank you! – Cher, Canada

Very happy with the purchase! Solid, reliable, charming. Just “OOD” with a capital “G” and a sincere “VERY” upfront.

In total contrast to some Assam oils purchased directly from India, where almost every seller does his best and puts the words “Ateeq” or “Khadeem” upfront to assure you, that you get something old, vintage or special. Old and special (uneasily) sometimes means murky barnyard, mean old Roquefort, yellow mushrooms fried in red turpentine, wet poultry in a lilac bush, a repellent in “office-wearable” terms. Some direct-from-India-oils (with luck one finds pleasant ones as well) just have a cellotape with a paper stripe around, and O O D handwritten in ballpen.

Now Ensar Oud’s Assam Organic, it is exactly the other way round: That we are served an organic oil, no one would guess- on my skin, I think I would have sworn that this is the kind of “Ateeq” or “Khadeem” oil from Assam I have been dreaming of. The opening immediately transforms the initial soil-like barn into a subtle sweet peppery and jam frame, all the plums and tangerines, the grenadine, tobacco and raspberry, even a couple of sour cherries walk on by. Indeed, AO would be the recall or invocation to the ouds our historical forefathers knew. The spectacular turns are reset to a constant flow of the charming solidity, no turnpikes – except the price tag: Outstanding price/value ratio. – Erhard, Austria

Just received my Assam Organic 2021. I didn’t wear it yet, but upon sniffing from the dipstick, it’s like milk, creamy milk and creamy chocolate. It’s very creamy and the barn is smooth, no sharp edges at all. I have smelled much more expensive Assamese oud, but the barn is not always done perfectly, as it can be edgy and a bit sharp. But nope, not in this one, the barn is creamy-smooth like butter. I am so excited to wear it tonight…

… I put a small swipe, not a full swipe, and this is my assessment based on my first wearing.

It starts off with fruits, a light shade of smokiness, light-honeyed-sweetness, and barn (of course). But this barn was light upon application, it will not shock you, at least if you have some experience with Assamese oud. To be honest, upon application the barn was almost non-existent to me, it felt as if I am wearing a beautiful Cambodian oud. The barn and animalic aspect are in the background, very shy, it is not taking over the symphony of this oil.

As my skin heated up the oil, it truly started to unfold itself. Slowly the barn and animalic aspect started to come alive, very gently. The spices started to heat up, the tobacco-honeyed-sweetness started to blossom much more along with florals. Everything that was being showcased in this oil at this moment was perfectly balanced. It felt very smooth and creamy, this oil made me feel like I am wearing a musky perfume, very sensual, and erotic.

As the dry down approached, everything was held perfectly balanced. The barn, spices, tobacco-honeyed-sweetness, and florals were perfectly held together. Another aspect that slowly showed itself is incense, the light-smokiness in this oil quietly transformed itself into a gentle incense. The dry down of this oil is utterly beautiful as if I put a Hindi chip on a burner in the lowest heat, and it is showing me its royal beauty in a subtle manner.

The longevity was 4+ hours with a small swipe. It will continuously keep you engaged. The silage is subtle but is continuously there surprising you with its beauty. The longevity is good as well, I can still smell it if I put my nose close to it beyond the 4-hour mark. Of course, this is all dependent on your application amount and spot, I applied it on my wrist.

Very beautiful oil, if you have not tried it, I suggest you do. You will love it! – Rezwan, Canada