Naga Raja

If you normally give Hindi ouds a miss, read on. And if you have a special love for Indian oud… you’re in for something!

I could have released this as the new Suriranka and nobody would second-guess it being an exceptional walla patta distillation. 

Naga Raja is one of those ouds that comes along to challenge everything you thought you knew about oud. You have an entire collection of agallocha distills, yet…… this……… what is this?

As a distiller, you think you’ve seen and smelled it all. You’ve handled just about every strain of Indian aloes there is, every grade, and smelled every profile in between. Then you extract these drops and …… they look like agallocha. The typical red/orange hue of the oil, the viscosity, everything. 

Then you smell it.

Disbelief. Exhilaration.

You’re in Nagaland. The wood is from Nagaland. The pots are in Nagaland. Yet…

It’s like someone snuck in at night, emptied the cauldron and stuffed it with freshly ground Sri Lankan gyrinops, and then left without a trace.

Cool, oceanic, in total contrast to what you’d expect from any Hindi you’ve smelled. This spicy green opening fumigated by jungly Papuan incense and walla’s green apple sweetness.

I wish we could have done this before. Who wouldn’t love to smell Sri Lankan agarwood distilled in India?! But as you may know, getting oud wood out of Sri Lanka is tricky – and expensive. Even getting any agarwood in is a mission (that’s why Maroke Ceylon was such a feat).

Yet – here it is. And somehow, it’s pure Indian from start to finish.

The proof comes about an hour into your wear when the signature suede texture of quality agallocha marinates the green apples and aquamarine cool to form a chord I’ve never smelled in oud before – and that notes just goes on and on!

That’s what makes this distillation so exciting: The smell is not just gorgeous…… it’s a new breed of fragrance to feast on.

The guava laced with pepper spiciness slowly – very slowly – begins to whisper echoes of rooibos and cumin, its Hindi warmth reflected through the prism of walla’s blue-green cool.

To capture this aroma took a crazy batch of agarwood. And you know what it takes to get your hands on any crazy batch of wild-harvested agarwood – never mind Indian agarwood that oozed out this smell.

Only a few bottles exist. Sold on a first-come-first-served basis.