A Journey into The World of Oud
Part Twenty Five
The Best Ouds of All Time
My 10th Anniversary Column
By Hank Friedman
It's hard to believe that it's only been a decade since I started collecting Oud oils. Ten years ago, I started this series on Oud after discovering the magic, beauty, and holiness of this amazing essential oil.
And it's been a joyous, Sacred, and exhilarating journey that I feel very blessed to have taken.
Along the way, I've found more olfactory gems than I could ever mention, but I thought that I'd celebrate here some of the ones that I found to be the very best, even life changing.
(As those of you who have read my column before already know, I do not wear Oud as perfume, but use it to "tune my Soul", e.g. before sessions I offer to clients, when visiting with my best friends, when listening to music, and before meditation.)
In the Beginning
Early on, I was deeply touched by three Ouds:
Thai Pa Pa Kea
190 Year Old Thai Crassna Oud Oil from Rising Phoenix Perfume.
JK DeLapp shared that he had been called upon to do some medical work (he's an acupuncturist and herbalist) for the family of the king of Thailand.
As a gift to him, he received a portion of this Oud oil, enough to share with some of this customers. It was from a 190 year old tree that had died naturally.
When I received it, I was struck by how much it looked and seemed like honey, sweet, pure, and heartful.
It is the only oil that I've placed (a tiny bit of) in my mouth, which immediately filled with an immensive presence of Oud.
Assam 3000
By Grace, I found Ensar Oud and his offerings almost at the beginning of my journey, and his Ouds have taken me farther and higher than I could have ever dreamt possible.
When I first sniffed his Assam 3000, I couldn't believe its potency, incredible fragrance, and absolute perfection.
It quickly because my best friend's favorite Oud, and it was one of my early touchstones for my Spiritual work.
Oud Yusuf
In all of the years that I've sniffed Ouds, I have never found any that come close to, much less equal, the exquisite scent of Oud Yusuf, again from Ensar Oud.
Harvested kindly from trees while keeping them alive, Oud Yusuf is pure transcendental perfume while being pure Oud. As noted, it has notes of lilac and other florals, and is continuously breathtaking in both its aroma and uplifting effects.
Of these three, only Oud Yusuf is still available, which is a miracle in and of itself. I am so grateful to have it.
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Along The Way
As I continued to collect Oud oils, I discovered several that were truly outstanding in all sorts of ways:
Hindi Z
I had already started exploring the incredible oils from Imperial Oud when they contacted me about a very limited edition phenomenal Indian oil called Hindi Z.
The fragrance, the clarity, the highness, the absolute perfection of Hindi Z was remarkable, and I've only sniffed one other Oud that was at all similar.
White Kinam
Years ago, Linh Agarwood sold oils on Etsy, and their White Kinam sold out very quickly. Filled with luxurious resin and Vanilla elements, it was both incredibly soothing and amazingly delicious to sniff. Simply wonderful!
Kinamantan
When Ensar Oud released this complex island Kinamic oil, I could not believe it. It was incredibly low priced and much better than any other oils I'd seen at the time.
I just sniffed it again, and it has lost none of its magic, a pure Kyara experience with airiness, subtlety, and power.
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The Highest of All
I was inspired to write this article by one specific truly great Oud:
Nha Trang LTD
Until I first sampled Nha Trang LTD, I really didn't understand what Kinam/Kyara was. This ultimate oil immediately grabbed me by the shoulders and said to me: This Is Kyara.
Years later, even after all of the soaringly great oils that I've gotten since then -- almost all from Ensar Oud* -- Nha Trang LTD wears the crown. It has the most profound and immediate impact upon me.
Not only does it have an incredibly uplifting, deepening, and balancing effect on your consciousness, but it will prickle your nose with its Kinamic bite while indulging your senses with flowers and resin.
Amazingly, you can still get this pinnacle Oud oil from Ensar here! If you only purchase one Oud oil in your life, it should be this one.
(Note: Ensar was recently kind enough to let me also procure a small sample of his Nha Trang Sinking oil, and while it's still in the process of opening up, it already is showing clear signs of a World Class Oud.)
* For those interested in other phenomenal and still currently available Oud oils from Ensar, some of the stunning ones are Hyang Kang (at Oriscent), Pinoy, Port Moresby, and Purple Kinam.
Ensar Oud
The vast majority of my favorite Oud oils
have been from Ensar Oud.
His skill in creating phenomenal Ouds
is unparalleled.
That's why I wrote a tribute to him.
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Pure Sky: Ceylon Solide
While most Oud oils' scents have a mixture of sky and earth (except for the jungly Borneo ones that are pure earth), the Solide Ouds from Ensar are pure sky.
Complete perfumes unto themselves, the Guallam (Vietnamese) and Ceylon Solides (and the Guallam Liquide) are pure Light: sweet, elevating, spacious, open, and just High.
Of them all, the Ceylon Solide remains my favorite, it brings a smile to everyone's face, and simply makes us happy.
Jayapula
It impossible to compare Jayapula with Nha Trang LTD simply because they are both peerless. While Nha Trang LTD shows Kinam, Jayapula is much more complex, with an incredibly layered scent that contains so many beautifully joined notes that I cannot separate them.
Jayapula has as much transcendental impact as Nha Trang, and one whiff and you won't want to stop.
Ouds this good are just beyond words.
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HM Sultan Qaboos Ouds
Finally, this article on mindblowing Ouds would not be complete without a deep bow to HM Sultan Qaboos.
His majesty committed his life to creating the best Oud oils and perfumes possible, by collecting, distilling, and blending (often with the help of others) truly unparalleled scents.
Since his passing in 2020, we have all been lucky enough to be able to get samples of some of his supreme creations.
I've gotten vials from both Ensar Oud and from Sulaym. As my readers know, I don't usually prefer aged Ouds, but his are exceptional and really worth acquiring.
Ensar Oud still has two of the SQ pure oils available: the truly outstanding Oud SQ and also the Haflong SQ (which I haven't tried), as well as four of the Sultan's blends.
And while on Sulaym most of the pure aged Oud oils from Sultan Qaboos have already sold out, there is still his HM Royal Viet here, as well as many of his perfume blends.
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And one final scent
Almost all of the time, I greatly prefer pure Oud oils over blended Oud oils or perfumes. But I stumbled upon a scent created by An Najwa called Jasmine Malaccensis, which was a perfume composed of 3 different Hindi Oud oils, Jasmine Sambac, Siberian Musk, Grey Ambergris, Iris absolute, Costus Root extract, and more. And it blew me away.
I still sniff it before my clients, and find it to be priceless.
p.s. An Najwa recently issued a perfume extrait by the same name but sadly it's not anything like previous one.
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The Opening and Fading of Oud Oils over Time
In the past decade, I have collected small samples of hundreds of Oud oils, and surprisingly most have been true Ouds, as opposed to synthetic creations.
But as I've already pointed out, I've come to realize several distinct tiers of oils, from very mediocre second distilled (and even diluted oils) to the truly sublime.
What I've found is that almost all Oud oils go through changes over time, but the degree and direction of change varies greatly.
If a high quality Oud oil is properly sealed, not exposed to air (i.e. not opened, just stored), and kept in a dark place, it changes very, very little over time.
Conversely, if a middling Oud oil is left out in the Sun, only fills a small portion of its container, and wasn't particularly potent to begin with, then it can decline almost completely over a few years.
Many decent quality Oud oils show their age, I've found. It's only the very best that have the most staying power.
But I've also experienced paradoxical and unpredictable results with the best Oud oils.
The lightest Oud oils, like the exquisite Oud Yusuf, actually have lost some of their stunning high notes over time, when a small amount in a vial was frequently sampled (i.e. plenty of air above the oil).
But conversely, my powerhouse deeply potent and darker Oud oils, like Nha Trang LTD (or Sinking) and Jayapula, take months to even open up, becoming better and better over time. And they don't seem to decline at all even after years.
So keep your oils out of the Sun, and cherish them, both for how they are now and what they will become.
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End of Part Twenty Five
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