Clean. Pristine. Scrumptious.
You'd think I'm talking about a Borneo oud. Far from it.
From a land which has given us some of the most pungent, fecal and animalic ouds, Royal Assam is the very definition of an anomaly.
Oud oils from the Indian province of Meghalaya have an unmistakable sweet toffee-like scent - the kind that was the key note of our Sultan Al-Hind. By carefully tweaking each factor in the production of this Assam oil, I managed to not only achieve but in fact surpass the addictively sweet qualities of Meghalayan ouds.
One could argue that it was the superiority of the raw materials that gives this oud its sublimity and clarity. Or the fact that the water used for lightly soaking the wood prior to distillation was clean, pure drinking water, as was the water used during distillation -- unlike the mineral and microbe-rich ground water typically used in Indian distillations. Perhaps it was the fact that, contrary to common practice, the wood wasn't left to ferment for months prior to distillation. Or surely the cleanness and richness of the scent could be attributed to the fact that the oil was separated and collected after only 5 days of distillation, ensuring that only the most pristine and full-bodied aromatic molecules were captured and the 'muddier' ones were avoided.
It was in fact all those reasons that bequeath Royal Assam its uniqueness, and more -- reasons which will be revealed, as I roll out some more unique Indian oud oils, each with a story of its own.
If you isolate the honeyed sweetness of Malinau ouds, fuse it with the fruitiness of the most addictive Thai ouds, then add to it the mouthwatering caramelicious notes of Meghalayan ouds, and give it the soft woody and golden hay base common to all great Indian ouds from Assam... you almost achieve the scent of Royal Assam. Almost, but not quite.
The absence of minerals and microbes in the water used for distilling this oil resulted in a stunning clarity that reveals scent notes which are otherwise left obscured in other Assamese ouds: sweet deer musk (TONS of it), milk chocolate, tuberose, Chaunsa mangoes and honey. But instead of a confused meddley of jarring scent notes, they unite in a harmonious ensemble.
An olfactory delight from beginning to end, this is an oud that is so pleasant you could wear it to work without worrying about offending others.
And its Indian, no less.
Royal Assam. An Assam oud like none other.
Royal Assam is tue refined Hindi, when
smelling burned incense grade
indian chip i get a lot of notes, sweet , bit
peppery.....etc , but
there is an agarwood note that distuishes it from other
types of
agarwood, that note is present in Royal Assam and
bursting right from
top to the heart of the oil, plus the sweet qualities.
N.B. (Kuwait)
I wore R. Assam again last night and noticed wonderful
blasts of aroma
for the next 7-8 hours. Even this morning at moments I
think I might be
getting a hint of the scent, but not sure if it's my
imagination.
Either way... what a beautiful thing to experience….
M.S. (USA)
I'm really leaning on getting a bottle since it so darn
pretty! I mean,
THIS is what I think a borneo should smell like. Woody,
and clean with
barely a hint of the the barnyard note that indian oud
is so famous
for. In fact, if I didn't know better, I would guess
that it's a borneo
oud and not guess an indian oud.
Y.N. (USA)
This could be the closest I've come to heaven through
oud. I know
folks go ga-ga for the Borneo but I find the Cambodian
and Indian to be
more interesting, more dynamic, even though the Borneo
are more
resinous, which is something I like. Royal Assam
though has the
animailia and leather I like with a sweet hay-like
composure.
Such a beautiful oud!
C.S. (USA)
Soft but rich, hindi but refined, and delicious!
This really is a
fine Hindi in all the right ways :)
R.S. (Australia)
It has clear, ringing tones I associate with Borneo oils
but its
character is unmistakably Indian. Although I enjoy
Assam ouds
primarily for their sculpted muscularity, I like them
best when that
animal power oozes with juicy purple lushness. The
contrast
between raw hides, meijiu liquor and bitter chocolate
adds depth and
drama to this hearty Indian, however its cool clarity is
what truly
sets it apart, and adds an aloof elegance to its
confident swagger.
M.W. (USA)
It actually reminds me a lot of Sultan Al-Hind (which is
another
favorite of mine), not in the barnyard sense, but for me
the inital
notes of Royal Assam resemble the dry down of Sultan
Al-Hind (I could
be off base here or maybe my nose is just a bit
off). Either way
it is a lovely beginning and then I smell honey and
chocolate as well,
as the oil evolves. It is definitely a lovely oil
that I feel
comfortable wearing to the office especially in the
summertime.
S.K. (USA)
Very light, minimal barn, with lot of high notes, my
type of Hindi. I
like this one best. The only other Hindi of yours I
sampled was
Bhavana, and I prefer this one by far.
A.A. (Croatia)
It is the most interesting of all the ouds I've tried so
far. I
like the depth of character in it, the softness of its
attributes, and
the distinctively Indian quality.
C.S. (USA)
I just get the caramel in buckets. Ive never smelled
that in an Indian
oud before, that'll do me :)
C.T. (U.K.)