Vintage Nha Trang

Labels are losing their meaning. When you hear “kinam” you must assume it means the imitation plantation kind, not actual kinam. But that’s always how it starts and before too long “kinam” has become redefined.

You see the same thing with “wild” agarwood, which has all but taken on a new definition which I talk about in this video: RIP Vietnam Agarwood.

So, I won’t repeat myself, since if you’re reading this you’re probably interested in proper Nha Trang agarwood, not the industry stuff for sale everywhere. 

These pieces are so old, it’s difficult to date them. Judging by their appearance and aroma, this was likely a harvest from the 70s, if not earlier. 

Pieces like these were what gave olde Nha Trang oils their priceless bitter red aroma. It’s agarwood like this that has allowed the flakey ‘wild’ industry stuff to piggyback on its legendary renown.

The modern mass-produced ‘wild’ Vietnamese ouds smell quite similar to… well, industry ouds from most other regions. Previously, you could easily discern between different regional profiles, but because this industry extends throughout the Far East, aquilarias are grown and treated the same way across the board. In fact, in many cases they’re the same species of saplings that are exported all over – Thai crassnas dominate Laos and Vietnam, and are sent in large numbers to Indonesia and Malaysia. 

That’s why all the modern industry oud chips have that generic, fleeting, semi-sweet profile, be they Cambodi, Laotian, Vietnamese – or Indo-Malay…

When I talk about proper Nha Trang agarwood, this is what I’m talking about:

Above: microscopic close-up.

When I talk about the narcotic, bitter kinamic scent of a fine Nha Trang distillation (like this), I’m talking about oud distilled from wood of this caliber.

When Vietnamese collectors and distillers say they haven’t seen proper Nha Trang wood in years, they’re reminiscing over this wood. 

People new to oud, who still think in ‘blacker is better’ terms, might even think the industry oud chips are superior. That’s only because they haven’t seen the red hue of golden-age Hoi An agarwood. You may remember the red Cambodian beauties we showcased back in the day… when was that? Twelve years ago? 

I’ve had these pieces for almost as long and I’m making a portion of the batch available today. Because such pieces are only becoming rarer, the price of quality raw agarwood keeps going up. Not only would you acquire a piece of agarwood history that smells otherworldly, you’d also be in possession of an asset that will only go up in value. 

5gr and 10gr packets are available for immediate purchase. If you’re interested in the larger pieces, please contact us for more details.