This oud is, without a doubt, the
crown jewel of the numerous distillations we conducted for a
very special client of the Middle East.
Insanely high grade wild-harvested raw materials (you have
to see
it, to believe it) harvested from the
most prized jungle in all of Cambodia: Koh Kong; nothing but
the best would do for the finicky noses of the wealthy
sheiks.
What started out as a distillation for one single man piqued
the interest of two more suppliers to special clients of
GCC countries and what we have here now is a small bit
of oil remaining of a monumental distillation project,
something which otherwise could not have been done
considering the sheer scale of the project - that is, except
with the help of our friends from the Arabian Gulf.
(Of course, our unique extraction techniques which
typically increase the yield ten-fold certainly helped as
well. Otherwise, imagine another zero at the end of the
price!)
Like most of the other oud distillations that were conducted
for these clients, King Koh Kong is of a unique
oud genre, a "Gen4" oud oil.
The oud speaks for itself, so there's no
need for marketing fluff. When you see the raw material, and
more importantly when you smell the oil for yourself, you
will realize its value.
So let's skip right to the aroma.
As is the case with most oud oils extracted from large
agarwood chips and chunks, this oil has a lustrous silky
aroma that starts off understated, and comes to life after
you apply it. It 'glows' carrying up wafts of intoxicating
oudy goodness to your nose when you least expect it.
There are no chirpy, bubbly, overly-fruity notes. Yes, there
are fruity undertones, but unlike most Cambodian ouds which
have a strong scent of ripe fruits (often verging on
fermentation), here they are of the dried-fruit
variety: sticky currants, figs, and prunes aplenty.
The overall character of this oud is very mature, dark and
resinous. The traditional soaking of the raw material in Koh
Kong's infamous "red water" brought out the hot and spicy
notes - crucial for Koh Kong ouds, to replicate the spicy
character which sets Koh Kong agarwood apart from agarwood
from all other regions in Cambodia. It also helped transmute
the typical Cambodian caramelicous sweetness into the
unmistakably Koh Kong burnt toffee sweetness. And finally,
it also brought out the thing which, to me, is the most
addictive scent note in Koh Kong agarwood: pipe tobacco.
If you've run out of our old Cambodian oils Cambodi
Royale or Royal Kampuchea, you'll be
pleased to know that King Koh Kong is of the same scent
genre, except... its a Gen4 oud. And extracted from 100% Koh
Kong materials (the former 2 oils were from various regions
of Cambodia). And the quality of raw materials, well... you
saw it for yourself.
A word to the wise: if you are not a seasoned Monkoh
practitioner whose nose has mastered the art of discerning
the subtlest agarwood nuances, then to really appreciate the
beauty of this oud (and this applies to all Gen3 and Gen4
ouds) I recommend holding your nose half an inch away from
the spot where you applied the oud, and then inhale deeply
but very slowly for 5-10 seconds, allowing the aroma to fill
your lungs.
Prepare to be amazed.
Gloriously thick layers of gooey resin, dried fruit,
cherry-flavored pipe tobacco, hot and sweet spices, and
burnt toffee... all riding atop a rich Aquilaria
Crassna base packed with sesquiterpenes of
dangerously medicinal potency, this is the finest Koh Kong
oud we have ever offered.
I've found beyond my expectations and
would not miss the opportunity of getting it. It is so
complex and , in a simply word GOOD . It really seems to
include and harmonize all the good scents one know, giving a
full perception of peace and satisfaction.
A.A. (Italy)
The king koh kong kicks major ass and may be my favorite.
P.O. (USA)
Right off the bat, King Koh Kong is a quality oil. That is
evident even when one applies micro swipes from the sample
vial. I imagine that this is what the raw (un-heated) wood
smells like. It's starts off strong, but not overpowering.
It's very woody and dry (similar to Vietnamese) with
absolutely no off notes. It's what I would call smooth. The
oil evolves over time and ends up with a slight sweetness.
This quality was enough to justify a full bottle purchase,
without question.
It wasn't until I received the full bottle that I realized
just how amazing this oil is. No, it's not because of the
cool crystal bottle! Lol! I applied what I consider a full
wearing. A full swipe on each wrist and then dabbed it on my
beard and arms. The opening was the same as when I sampled
it, more intense with the amount applied. 10-15 minutes into
wearing it, I was hit with an olfactory deja vu that I have
never experienced before. I couldn't understand where I had
smelled this aroma before, but then it hit me. The full
wearing re-created the same aroma that I experienced when I
heated the chip (Agar Aura style) that you included with my
bottle! I confirmed this when I went home and heated another
small piece. You truly re-created what you were after since
the beginning. The only thing is that you must do a full
wearing in order to experience this. The aroma has to hit
you from all angles and distances to re-create the aroma of
the heated chips. Finally, the end of the life of this oil
is actually semi-sweet as the heart of the oil is dominated
by the sweetness that is found in the heated chip aroma.
This sort of relegates the sweetness at the end to a bitter
sweet since you just experienced a true intense sweetness.
Hands down, a masterpiece that fully reveals itself with a
proper full wearing.
S.G. (USA)
Really brilliant Cambodi. Deep, dark red fruits. Slightly
medicinal. Lasts forever. Decent projection. Well worth the
$750/3g price IMO.
B.H. (USA)
Une huile superbe , de qualité , qui n'est en aucune façon
offensive et qui effectivement , se développe
progressivement sur la peau. L'odeur n'est pas entêtante ,
mais dure longtemps. D'une grande douceur , en même temps
chaude. Des fruits , style dates ou pruneaux séchés , oui ,
c'est ce que je pourrai d'écrire aussi.Par contre , je ne
parviens pas identifier les notes de tabac pipe. (Mais
peut-être évoquais -tu un tabac plus proche de celui que
l'on utilise pour le narguilé ?) C'est peut être bizarre ,
mais en portant kkk, j'ai eu en mémoire Oud Darussalam ,
mais en beaucoup plus doux et confortable...
Précision : en ce moment , il fait très chaud et l'huile est
tout fait confortable , donc portable tout moment de
l'année.
J.S. (France)
It's definitely one of the best oils that I have sampled to
date. Probably the best or right up there with another oil
crafted from Vietnamese agar wood. Very woody, dry, and
slightly spicy. It definitely changes over time on your skin
and gets slightly sweet. I can definitely smell the high
quality. My first Koh Kong Oud.
S.G. (USA)
It opens silky smooth and dark, gone are the usual
sweet-fruity Cambodi "like me" notes. Dark and slow opening
of the high quality oils, the antipode to the ones with
vaporous top notes.
This oil is very elegant, and subdued in character, that's
what makes it attractive. One needs peace of mind to
appreciate it, and feels emotionally grounding.
The sweetness is of the uplifting, expansive and airy kind.
spicy and herbal notes are fully integrated into the
background. This oil is mostly resin and incense. that juicy
basenote is not exactly tobacco, but similar in register,
deep. Is it fruity? only in an abstract way. And another
great thing about KKK is the drydown, never goes bitter or
grassy, but finishes almost where it started. It would be
nice to have more agarwoody Cambodi oils like this one.
A.A. (Croatia)
I can't believe how much my experience of it has
developed... I liked it from the first sniff, but ..it
almost feels like a transformed oil where the complexity is
more discernible. Like at first it was just hands down a
nice smelling Cambodi oil. But ..like I said the whole
experience of smelling the oil has become on a different
level because I can pick up notes and nuances that were
almost ghayb to me before haha
T.G. (Dubai)
The scent belongs in a different league on its own. So old
school takes me back to the 80's in the masjid & old
Arab guy is giving attar, the whole masjid smelled like the
King Koh Kong classic scent that's beautiful, all I can say
is this is a journey In a bottle, JazakAllah Taha for
releasing this Gem in a bottle.
- Customer
The kohkong king is stellar!
W.C. (Singapore)
The King Koh Kong definitely has depth and presence. For
some reason, it seems to have an "island" feel to it. Is the
area where the wood originated near salt water or was it
from the "mainland?" I was lucky to get a drop (literally)
of your Oud KK from a friend. Wasn't sure if it was
available to order. It was less intense than the King Koh
Kong and a little sweeter, I think..A drop doesn't quite
have the impact as a .15 ml sample does. I know that it was
exceptional and lasted 4 hours or so. The King Koh Kong
lasted a lot longer...Probably, a day, maybe more.
Tried the KKK and the SamRosa on...to compare. The SamRosa
is definitely softer and almost floral fragrant with a
slight spicy touch to its "woody" waft.
L.K. (USA)
Recently I've started to learn to appreciate the
burning/heating of agarwood, and this smells just like
scented smoke. I must be imagining it, but inhaling this
even feels like smoke to the nose and throat, that little
bit of irritation from inhaling the burning resin/wood, but
with it smelling so good. After an hour, the scent profile
has begun to turn to green (also nice), but still having
that smoky aura... I am not sure how you captured the heated
chips aroma quite in this way, but wow :)
M.I. (USA)
Not sweet and fruity but deep resinous instead, almost spicy
or bitter. interesting to note how the profile shifts with
more resin in wood.
- Customer
The King Koh Kong is a journey in a bottle , so many
interesting nuances , but the dry down is the best, super
spicy, it's a true benchmark for the scent profile, no other
distiller hit that profile… hands down you take the cake for
true Cambodi , hope you can create more gems like that oil…
I.R. (Canada)
I like your Cambodi, you captured a scent that gave me
memories from the 80's, the only person that came close to
the King Koh Kong scent profile was an old Guy from BD who
had a stash of oils from the 90's, I got a Cambodi from him
that comes close to it, but with deeper earthy notes with
intense animalic notes, but your oils has longer silage
I.R. (Canada)
I am really enjoying KKK - It’s a great oud and exactly what
i was expecting in terms of scent.
I get that rich intense fruity oudy smell.
It is defiantly my favorite Cambodi so far!
I.K. (USA)
The King I am still figuring out. So powerful but so sweet.
A.K. (USA)
Let me start by saying I am not a Cambodia fan. They just
don't seem to have enough bass. I never really feel they are
oud enough. I just received the samples and have only just
smelled the stick of king Koh Kong it is amazing It has the
depth and richness of a Malaysian oud but with the Koh Kong
profile. This is truly a work of art. Now I have to save up
for a bottle.
B.J. (USA)