Berkilau is the apex of Agar Aura oud.
It is the result of the combination of the absolute finest extraction techniques, the same fantastic grade of raw materials as Pencerahan, and the exact same hybrid copper & stainless-steel apparatus.
For producing this oil, the raw materials were harvested from jungles near the Johor-Pahang border in southern Malaysia. With utter disregard for the effect on the cost of the oil, we prioritized keeping the distillation temperature between 167°F and 176°F - the lowest temperature range possible for hydro-distillation.
For starters, Malaysian Aquilaria Malaccensis is one of the richest oud varieties in the world. Then there's the fact that the low temperature preserved the aromatic compounds found inside the wood, neither burned off nor warped. And then most importantly: our unique extraction techniques pulled so much good stuff out of the high grade wood that, ignoring the richness of the aroma from an aesthetic point of view, even from a purely scientific point of view this is just about the richest oud 'soup' ever possible to produce.
Of course, there's also solvent extraction and vacuum distillation... but those oils just smell 'wrong'.
It took exactly 100 days to distill Berkilau, whereas typical hydro distillations usually last 9 to 12 days, and the advantage of how we did things was that all the fractions were pristine, including the second and third pulls which have the richest and heaviest aromatic compounds.
Since the raw materials were procured from southern Malaysia, Berkilau also happens to be the 'prettiest' Malaysian oud. Not only are those pretty compounds very abundant in agarwood from this region to begin with (isophorone, nonanol, limonene, 3-phenyl-2-butanone, to name a phew), but our techniques managed to double, triple, and even up to septuple the extraction of many of these compounds. Even better: we were able to extract compounds which otherwise never get pulled during distillation. The likes of furfurals and certain hexanones.
What does this all mean? Glittery top notes, an incredibly voluptious body, and base notes deeper than the richest Indian or Papua oud you can imagine.
All this, and zero off notes.
Ripe strawberries, lemonade, cinnamon, caramel, coumarin, melon, white flowers, purple flowers, sweet wood, peppery wood, ethereal vapory agarwood smoke, green and golden resins, oud, oud, oud, oud, OUD.
For producing Berkilau, I pulled out all my cards. There was not a single thing about the extraction process that could be improved upon.
If you want to see why we've been making such a fuss about Agar Aura's "new age" distillation techniques, you will find the answer in Berkilau.
We have already implemented the same techniques (slightly adjusted and fine-tuned for each species) for over 12 other projects including Borneo, Cambodian, Malaysian, Papua, Sri Lankan and Sumbawan ouds.
Berkilau was the first oud distillation that opened the chapter, 'Redefining Oud'.
Your
Berkilau is amazing. This has to be a one of a kind oud
oil that is in a class all its own. Kudos, Taha :). What
a beauty!
M.I. (USA)
That oil is just
stunning. It's a
refined perfume. I don't know how I missed so many
nuances and facets
initially. Now I'm trying to desperately recalculate my
budget lol!
C.G. (USA)
Please reserve this one
bottle aside for me as I can't belive it but I've found
my holy grail oud.
E.S. (USA)
Berkilau is such a
scintillating, multifaceted gem..with its spectrum of
olfactory
delights refracting thru each prism..Wow!
L.L. (Singapore)
The new Malay is very complex and there's a great big
burst of scent in
the opening that I cannot put my finger on.
N.R. (UK)
The saturation of each the notes rising from Berkilau
are well beyond
my comprehension but not my pleasure :)
S.K. (Ireland)
I just smelled the oil from the bottle as I've been
working on patients
and latex gloves eat any fragrance, and now finally I
put some on.
It's beautiful, has that wonderful violets resin combo,
bursting with
flavour. Crazy oil, it's in my nostrils instead on the
wrist, and I put
a tiniest smidge.
wow. I was just able to relax, and I've been working on
a lecture with
loads of patients photos for a week non-stop, it had to
be finished by
Saturday morning and there's still heaps to do.
This is blissing me out for real, congratulations Taha.
And now
something clean comes out, a freshness from within as it
wasn't fresh
enough…
violets burning with cold fire
A.A. (Croatia)
As far as what I like about the Berkilau. I would say
those three
qualities you speak of are generally what I like the
most about the
oil. I will add that I really like the deeper and rich
notes the most.
I really like the top shimmery notes as well. But, what
really grabs me
is that antique peppery wood scent mixed with the deep
purple and white
florals.
M.J. (USA)
Greetings- my Berkilau arrived. It is remarkable. Quite
unlike anything
in my collection. The sparkling highs are extraordinary.
Well done.
K.P. (Hawai)
About an hour into wear, I got a strong strawberry
lemonade scent ---
it was making my mouth water and I was wishing spring
would get here
already! It is super luscious!
M.M. (Canada)
"Berkilau" - they should call it "Berki-wow!" instead -
very different
energy than the RCX - this one is vibrant and energetic
and zesty -
really piercing oil - the notes are like a little
whirlwind of
intensity - feels like I can sense a storm of high
energy sub-atomic
particles buzzing around each other as it enters my
sensorium.. A
space-age oud.. This all evens out into a rich ethereal
medley once it
has settled onto the skin a bit.. I see pastels with
this one -
lavender and aquamarine type colors..
J.M. (USA)
I received my package in excellent condition. I've
swiped the Berkalau
twice since and I'm still trying to conjure words to
describe the
scent. I love it. If it wasn't so expensive I'd wear it
everyday.
Doesn't take long for the delicious wood notes to
pervade my senses
with memories of SE Asia. It seems with a few years of
aging with the
rest of my collection and this oil will be something out
of this world.
M.N. (Canada)
Berkilau...alot of multi dimensional experiences to be
had
here..another very powerful oud (silliage and longevity
desires much
satisfied with these oils).. You can really tell the
quality of wood
used to craft these oils..even from just looking at the
colour..but
when you open the cap putting the stick near your
nose... it releaves
of the trouble of having to even sniff and rather takes
the liberty to
simply invade your olfactory senses taking no olfactory
receptors as
prisoners. These are both the most unique and ethereal
oils in my
collection so far...I truly hope to give them more
playmates as you
keep ripping out more Ouds of their calibre.
T.H. (Canada)
I just wanted to message you again to tell how wonderful
and amazing
this Berkilau oil is! I didn't comment on it before,
because I am just
now trying it out. It's scent reminds me of scents that
I might
encounter in an antique store. Like old vintage cabinets
or wood
furnishings. I also get heaps of purple flowers. As well
as a hint of
opium. Very reminiscent of your Pencerahan. In that is
smells like
bubbling oud chips. I think this one smells a bit more
concentrated and
refined though. Very much in awe whenever I breath in
it's sensational
aroma!
M.J. (USA)
Hi
Taha, I placed some Berkilau on my left wrist and
Kecantikan on my
right wrist, then I felt like I was in a room full of
gently heated
chips. Blissful Indulgence!
C.C. (USA)
Who wouldn't like
Berkilau?? I personally think this one is probably your
number one
Oud.. atleast from the time I started purchasing!! I
experimented it
both on skin and my sleeve... and as expected on the
cloth the
transition from one aroma to the other is slower so
gives more time to
enjoy each layer.. and on the skin it takes a different
course
altogether. Just amazing! The dry down was
very faint woody
but apart from that it is impossible to believe that is
an oud oil..
If I had not purchased
Keemasan I would have bought two full bottles of
Berkilau! :D
Next time please let me
know if you have some amazing stuff coming up ;)
This is just such a
fantastic job done by you and your team!!!
S.S. (USA)
I applied a small swipe
of Berkilau to my wrist and took a sniff and…
was hit with a brief and
delightful burst of spicy cinnamon and vanilla whiskey.
Immediately afterward, I
had an image of my hand (though it was not my hand, but
rather, a man’s
hand) holding a clear squat glass of amber liquid. I was
sitting on a
wide porch, and I was surveying the landscape before me
through the
transparent liquid.
For the next few hours,
every time I caught a whiff of Berkilau, I was that
person on the
porch, glass always in my man’s hand. Everything was
still and peaceful
but… vibrating; quiet and almost motionless, but very
alive. I saw a
field of wildflowers before me and the honey and floral
scent wafted
towards me. At one point, I could smell (and see) the
smoke of a
distant fire, emerging from the jungle beyond the field
of flowers,
drifting by. When the draft of hazy blue smoke was gone,
vestiges of it
lingered, caught in my clothing, my hair, sweeter now
and woody, long
lasting.
This oil gave me a sense
of gentle power, of accomplishment. It made me feel as
if the hard work
was already done; that now is the time to
merely relax and enjoy
the fruits of the labor. Berkilau is the reward…
I guess if I was to sum
it up with plain ol' adjectives, I would say:
vibrant, spicy,
cinnamon,
vanilla, honey-ed, herbaceous floral, woody
that turns sweeter over
the hours. Powerful but relaxing. Long
lasting. Absolutely
beautiful the entire time.
Really, really lovely
oil
that I have already enjoyed twice : ) Hard
to believe that this was
created by one type of wood!
C.M. (USA)
What I can tell you is:
purple extraterrestrial flowers indeed! Probably the
first Malaysian I
like.
Y.B. (U.K.)