Our distiller didn't have a crystal ball to tell him this wood would be worth thousands per kilogram somewhere down the line. So he did the best that he could for the time he was in, which was to cook the absolute best oil. That was his
When the wealthiest man of all time wrote his Song of Songs, Indian 'Aloes' was not only not endangered and on the verge of extinction - it was the only oud known. The caravans made their way to the Holy Land from the East, carrying musk pods
We can't go back in time four years or deflate the astronomical costs of wild Vietnamese agarwood. We can't un-string the $50,000 bangles, un-carve the miniatures, or revive the jungles and plant back the centennial trees. It takes
Royale No 5 doesn't just share the 'vintage agarwood liqueur' facets of the first Royale, like the '85 did. This is an actual Maroke and the distillation style is the same as Royale I. The royal incense profile never quiets down
The Sri Lankan market makes me think of car prices in Singapore€¦ for the price of a low spec Kia, you can drive an E-Class in the States. In Ceylon, you have to pay incense-grade oil prices for grade C oud oils. Even the 'higher' grade ouds still contain a good dose of
If only we had more materials to work with, I'd be distilling New Guinea-Sumbas non-stop. The scent is just so delectably perfumey – I'm not exaggerating when I say it's even more accessible than Oud Yusuf, and just as floral – without losing its oudy zing one iota
The physical lengths we went through to make Sultan Ahmet isn't something anybody just does to make a bottle of 'affordable' oud. The fatigue and disregard for counting pennies and pounds only hits you afterward when you see your
The physical lengths we went through to make Sultan Mustafa isn't something anybody just does to make a bottle of 'affordable' oud. The fatigue and disregard for counting pennies and pounds only hits you afterward when you see your
Exactly as if you're inhaling bubbling burst of vapor straight from a burning oud chip, dense green heart notes embody Sultan Orhan's agar kernel. This piercing oud wood smokiness makes this oil especially therapeutic, with a scent that
These are the same New Guinea shavings that went into Sultan Murad and Sultan Fatih – the very last of them. The aroma captures every bit the caliber of the early Sultans, packing the same tenacity and silage. But this time
