Oud Sultani: Brunei Kynam

Oud Sultani, the long sold-out oud oil, was a resinous floral fusion that when I showed it to an olfactory savant in Thailand (this one), he said – without me telling him anything about the oil—that “this is one of those rare, old Malaysians… the ones that smell like flowers.” Imagine Oud Royale… but draped in a dark blue purple floral garb that has baffled oud lovers till this day. 

I started making attars and perfumes almost two decades ago and “Oud Sultani” has been a defining fragrance throughout. Naturally, I’ve been mulling over the idea for years and years waiting for the right time, the right… something… for things to fall into place to actually create Oud Sultani, the perfume.

There are no sinking-grade distillations around. Nobody makes them (it’s too expensive), and certainly nobody ages one for forty years. So, how are you supposed to compose a perfume built on such a class of oud?

You may not know this, but Oud Sultani and Oud Ahmad (twin sinking-grade distillations from 2001) were directly obtained from one of the Sultan’s distillers. At that point, in 2012, it would have been easier to rob a bank than to get into Sultan Qaboos’ vault. We were going all around the oud world for years and nobody was making oud like what the Sultan had made. Why the distiller got in touch with us and how we ended up spending weeks on an island near Penang to finalize the deal is a story for another day, but in the end, I could never bring myself to use such precious oud in a perfume. Surely, we would never unearth anything comparable again.

That you’d, eight years later, gain direct access to Sultan Qaboos’ collection was unthinkable. Now that the royal treasury is shut, it still feels surreal that we had this brief moment to descend into oud paradise and bring a distillation that precedes Oud Sultani by 20+ years back with us.

I wasn’t going to make the mistake again. If the Sultan’s own oud in your hands isn’t reason enough to finally step up to the pitch, there would never be a right time. Access to a precious batch of vintage sinking-grade oud happily pushes you over the edge, and practically compels you to create this perfume.

The Sultan’s distillation style is all about auxiliary notes—the lush plums and raspberries, thick sweet molasses and oud smoke wafting through them all. Its layeredness and olfactory density makes the Sultan’s vintage Brunei distillation a fantastic oud to use in a perfume. The accessory notes bubbling from the oud mean a hundred different micro-interactions with the cast of ingredients around it.

When studying the profile and properties of the Brunei Kynam, you’d have to take a swipe of oud like Kyara de Kalbar to appreciate the sheer soul of old-school Brunei oud.

At first whiff, Kyara de Kalbar’s crystalline Oriscent aesthetic stands in contrast to the deep resinous potency of Brunei Kynam… then as you smell them in tandem, the beccarianan cool starts to tickle your palate and by the time you hit the drydown it’s like you’ve traveled up from two sides of the same mountain to reach the top where the view puts it all in focus.

Certain ouds are stripped of auxiliary notes and have unitone buzz from start to finish, and they’re difficult to incorporate into a perfume. Their linear profiles also make them hard to use in a composition – blend such ouds with rose or orris butter, for example, and the rose and orris will dominate.

Auxiliary-rich oud offers you more in terms of perfumery. Pair iris root and rose with aged Brunei oud, and you end up with a new fragrance. As if the auxiliary notes each sip from the orris and rose to create a series of small alterations to create a new scent, one that’s different from the parts that make it.

• • Brunei Kynam
  • Nepalese Spikenard
  • Bourbon Vanilla
  • Vintage Orris
  • Castoreum
  • Jasmine
  • Rose
  • Violet Leaf
  • Tigerwood
  • Raw Agarwood Resin

These are some of the notes that have been welded by the blue resinous grip of Brunei Kynam, which have been transmuted by the only Tonkin Musk Absolute in existence (made in-house), metamorphosed by the Sultan’s own Ambergris, transformed by the final fusion of the entire blend.

Oud Sultani’s signature is a wild, auxiliary-licious concoction that ditches any monkoh serenity for a deep purple floral heart characteristic of “one of those rare, old Malaysians… the ones that smell like flowers” punctuated with the heavy toned duo of violet leaf and rare Nepalese spikenard infused into crimson jasmine petals sweetened by castoreum.

Many people won’t be able to handle smelling our in-house Tonkin musk absolute neat; it’s that raw. But in Oud Sultani, that raw tenacity turns into an exalting, savory sweet glow, brighter as you smell the spritz mid-air, while once it settles on your skin or collar, you’d smell the sweet purple orris oudy liqueur up-close.

This bespoke edition features a heavier shot of extraordinary vintage distillation: Brunei Kynam, an oud that oozes the exquisite blue resinous sheen of majestic Bruneian Beccarianas. Oud like this, as rich as this, as deep-blue, pitch-perfect, full-spectrum, comes around once in a lifetime.

Reviews of previous editions…

We all know oud sultani, we love it and with every new version we got a perfume from what we thought it couldn’t get better anymore.

The last one was Oud Sultani Kelantan and I remember smelling it for the first time and getting completely blown away by it. Months have passed and out of nowhere we got the new Brunei Kynam version.

The purple syrupy blast in the opening of this version is without any doubt my favorite of all the OS perfumes… the grape(?) note is absolutely amazing

The Brunei kynam adds a blue touch to the purpleness and compliments the composition with a great oudy smell.

If someone asked me what the difference between OSBK and the others is, I’d probably say imagine OST but in a amped up, even more purple and beautiful way.

A sophisticated evolution of an “old” fan favorite.

Longevity and silage are great, exactly what I’ve expected from a new sultani release.

Too bad that I haven’t got the 50ml bottle of this perfume…

—Chris A / Germany

If you’re familiar with the Tibetan Musk, then Siber Extreme would feel like home to you. It is in the same caliber as the Tibetan Musk, it doesn’t quite have that spicy and peppery bite but it is heavier and muskier. Obviously, this one has the unmistakable Siberian signature and characteristic… a hint of uranious in the beginning, though it isn’t offensive at all, a bit more animalic than other varieties.

Ever since the shipping notification and many posts regarding to Oud Sultani Terengganu I am so excited to get my nose on it. OH MY MY this is a beauty alright…and I agree with other reviewers that OST is tad more floral than OS75. As bona fide floral gal may I just say the florals here are magnificent ❤️

The right amount of sweetness and beautiful addicting florals just hit my soft spot. It may have taken the place of OS75 but just slightly 😄 Actually both of them have climbed very top of my EO collection 🥰

Slathering myself with this gorgeous scent while unpacking and run errands… I SMELL FANTASTIC😉💕

Ruby Y. • USA

First Impressions

from a Customer

DHL came earlier than I’ve anticipated. Oud Sultani Terengganu has a heavy dose of juicy purple and syrupy oud in the opening, with a hint of medicinal, rooty, earthy, and herbalicious undertone, I sprayed OST on one arm, and OS75 on the other to compare them side by side, keep sniffing them back to back. The difference is negligible, they smell very similar, like 98~99% match, but if I must split the hair to set them apart then I would say the OST is a bit fruitier and oudier in the first 30min, OST came off a wee bit brighter (not darker), with the Orris and Rose notes from OST being a bit more pronounced, lending to a slightly more floral and playful impression. Neither OST or OS75 is as flowery as the Purple Kinam PP in comparison, you may find some similarities between them though, but both OST and OS75 simply hit the right spot for me, even more so than Musc Gardenia aka the Moon Juice..

In the first 30min, the OS75 has a tiny bit of twang that is absent in OST, and the molasses is a little more pronounced on OS75, comparing them side by side the OS75 seems to be a tiny bit darker, not the other way around (your mileage may vary), while the OST is a little bit more vibrant in the opening. But after an hour or so, they’re almost indistinguishable, very beautiful florals with that super duper juicy purple shizzo going for them, both have a bit of creamy, ambery, and herbaceous note in the background, and a tiny bit of bitterness that balances out the sweetness. The Musk here is enough to make its presence, but it is nowhere near as musky as Tonkin Musk PP, it’s a very nice boost on top of the castoreum to provide that warm and cozy feeling.

The far drydown remains the same, OST didn’t turn into a dark knight on me, I didn’t anticipate it to anyway, but someone mentioned previously that it became darker in the far drydown? Not on me it didn’t. Performance is very good on both, same sweetness too, neither one is cloying. I’ve smelled the Terengganu Oud oil neat from the sample stick before I sprayed the perfume, definitely identifiable in OST, it’s a good reference point. Overall, the core profile is pretty much identical, if you missed out on OS75, or need backup of OS75, the OST would be a great alternative.

If you love OS75, you will also love OST, they both have that super addictive juicy purpleness going for them. If I get to smell and sample both of them before I buy, I would literally have to flip a coin to decide which one I would go for, there isn’t any clear winner as they both are equally awesome, both OST and OS75 are extraordinary releases and I would be happy to own and wear either one. What sold me on this OST and OS75 is the unbelievably alluring Purpleness, it’s the star of the show, very mesmerizing, stunning, and addicting at the same time, highly recommended!! 😉.

—Ben W. / USA

Follow Up: Wore OST to work today, this is the 4th wearing. 2 sprays to the chest and 9hr later it is still projecting nicely. Performance is excellent! When I was at home, 1 spray to the chest is more than enough. I’m happy with the current scent profile exactly the way it is now, absolutely do NOT want to make any adjustment to the composition in any way, shape, or form, it is perfect for me AS IS. This is an expensive perfume, but the scent quality and performance met my expectation, wouldn’t be happy with anything less for sure, so far I’m very pleased to have a 50ml of this gem.

Dammit, i need to win the lottery so i could buy some backups, I want 5 bottles of this shizzo like 10 years ago! 😝

—Ben W. / USA

Replies

Nice review. I pretty much had the same experience, but I found the dry down more oudy and had that dusty malaysian profile. Great composition overall.

—Reda S. / UK

Yes, Perfect description of mesmerizing & addicting purpleness. So good, so punchy and makes you go back for more sniffs. It almost makes you think “this might be my favorite perfume all all time” when you’re wearing it.

—Chano V. / UK