I just returned from visiting my lifelong teacher, and the man I consider the greatest oud distiller alive. He asked how my work is going and I told him about our People’s Series, or rather the idea of making oud ‘cheap again.’ He cracked up, confused at how we plan to make oud cheaper when the […]
You might have heard the gossip. All that End of Oud talk of ours is bogus. Just a marketing ploy, they say. Oud is abundant and here to stay, they say. You see their campaign slogans everywhere: Democratize, and Make Oud Cheap Again! But you know what? Oud has never been cheap. When we first helped pioneer authentic […]
“Senkoh” is a word I learned from David Oller (Baieido’s US representative) way back in the day. I used to have these phone conversations with him where he’d explain how they identified kinam, the molecular structure vs normal agarwood, the definitions of “jinkoh” and “senkoh” etc. According to Dave, “senkoh” is one level up from […]
“One should not get distracted by mails while driving – got literally excited when I saw Oud Royale 1985 on sale and drove a bit faster to get home. Unfortunately, the police didn’t share my passion, I got stopped and received a hefty $450 fine. Check attachment. (Should have sent you the bill for having […]
My wife and I just finished sampling all the vials and they are simply exquisite. We started on Valentine’s Day and did one a day for the next nine days. Cracking open a vial, discovering each fascinating new aroma, applying it and inhaling the intoxicating smell all evening long became a rather enjoyable ritual for […]
We went into this, heart and soul. Pots boiled up blood, tears and sweat for the last five years. Grey hairs have grown plenty and we’ve gotten to know many beautiful people and distilled some exquisite oils. And so, it’s with a heavy heart that I look through the peephole to see a dark, dismal […]
Take a new distill. Collect the final drops, uncap the container, and leave the oud exposed for three months, ten months, two years, and you’ll get – in a distorted echo – a whiff of Tigerwood 1995… for two minutes. For a massive number of oud users, those two minutes of imitation-age matter more than any notes […]
