Agar Aura - pure oud products

Shano Shokat

This product has gone the way of all those before it...
Gone, never to come back.

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Description
Reviews

The oud you've all been waiting for...
Shano Shokat. Gen4 Indian oud.
The unrivaled king of the neuroleptic sesquiterpene Agarospirol, Indian aloes, now presented in a dangerously potent dosage.

Shano Shokat was distilled using one of the most ancient types of Assamese apparatus, hardly ever used any more. I deliberately decided to incorporate our most advanced extraction techniques within the framework of the most ancient setup possible.

But Shano Shokat is not about techniques or apparatus.
Like all genuinely high grade oud oils, it is first and foremost about the wood - the quality of which was wonderfully carried over to the oil.

Distill an oil using the same techniques but low grade wood, you'll get a 'pretty' but boring oil. Plenty of those floating around these days.
Distill an oil using the same apparatus but low grade wood, and you'll get oud 'boya' - a waxy paste with a gut-wrenching butyric odor.

The finest distillation techniques and the most appropriate apparatus are but the vehicles that allow a distiller to best showcase the aroma of.. the wood.

And that's what Shano Shokat is.
It is the unmistakable aroma of raw, wild Assamese agarwood. The ambient aroma of raw agarwood is one of the key features of our Gen4 oils ('squeezed wood', as I like to put it), and that's certainly the case with this oil.
Now, toss aside your fancy electric burner, and whip out a charcoal tablet. Place a chip on top when its nice and hot...
And now imagine a combination of these two aromas: the scent emitted from a bag full of raw Super King grade Indian agarwood (this grade has been extinct in India for quite a few decades, so you'll have to use your imagine here), coupled with the after-scent of roasted Indian agarwood nuggets that lingers in the air.

Translation: intense woodiness, explosive peppery and spicy notes, a bold muskiness that would make you think deer musk was macerated in this oil, Jamaican tobacco leaves spritzed with hot water coupled with damp henna leaves lifting the edges giving it a twang, dark honey, candied tobacco, and most importantly: the lingering 'after-scent' aroma of roasted Indian agarwood.

Shano Shokat was crafted alongside its sister distillation, Chamkeila (to be released later). A cursory whiff of the two oils simultaneously would suggest no two oils could be more different from each other. But inhale more attentively, and you will realize the core is identical.
More than anything else, Shano Shokat and Chamkeila are testaments to the fact that the quality of the raw material matters first and foremost. The two may smell radically different from each other, but as you let the aroma fill up every crevice in your lungs, you realize that quality oud is more than just a simple equation of copper, steel, and glass.

You may call a cat a fish, but dunk it in water and its not gonna swim.
Likewise, the fanciest techniques and apparatus can not rescue a distillation of low grade agarwood. The aroma falls flat.

Having said that, if you want to see which style of oud you prefer, for a limited time all full bottle (2.5g or 3g) orders of Shano Shokat will ship with a free sample of Chamkeila. Out of the 16 distillation permutations that were possible, I chose the two which I believe best captured the essence of this fine raw material.
Do you like your oud esoteric, pristine, and otherworldy? Or brazen, raw, straight to the point? Both are zero-barnyard Indian ouds, both bear the Agar Aura seal of quality.
And I won't blame you for loving both.

Shano Shokat is all about the rich, earthy, somewhat bitter woodiness to me - many ouds are easily described as being in the "sweet" "floral" fruit" "green" or "barnyard" categories - this oud isn't any of those things for me, and instead brings a sublimely centered oud experience that is both super earthy and transcendental - delightful!
J.M. (USA)

Shano Shokat was real strong at first. I've been sniffing these on and off for the last few days and I can say that Shano Shokat is without a doubt more complex and real high quality. I draw similarities between Lalitya, but Shano is much more potent/spicy.
S.G. (USA)

The Shano Shokat is very nice. I was not sure what to expect and it is sure pleasant. The meditative properties are wonderful. I am a fan of the zero barn as well. A lot of Indian ouds are too barnyard for me. And I love most things funky and barnyard. Wine that has brettanomyces is always one of my favorites and beer with brett added during aging is also a favorite of mine. I find Shano Shokat to be sweet, seductive and silencing. Good job!
M.S. (USA)

And the Shano Shokat...well (!) Stunning! (Quite literally...) So this is one of your #4s (generation)?
L.K. (USA)

D'ailleurs ce matin j'ai eu l'occasion de faire une petite balade en remettant le même tee shirt qu'hier qd je m'étais parfumé avec shano shokat , mais sans rien rajouter. Or , l'odeur était extrêmement présente et plaisante! Et elle m'a rappelé un de mes parfums ambré ,(un rappel de l'ambre gris... ). Ensuite, avant de partir travailler , après ma douche, je me suis remis une touche de shano shokat et là , j'ai saisi cette odeur de tabac gras (pour moi , l'odeur de certains cigares bien humides) qui est proche de darussalam puis tout de suite derrière , une petite note de fruits rouges. Mais c'est surtout après, lorsque je bougeais que l'odeur m'a pris à plusieurs occasions par surprise... jamais agressive. Vraiment j'aime beaucoup.
J.S. (France)

You are hitting it out of the park with your Indian ouds I can say that!
J.M. (USA)

The SS begins its journey at an almost overwhelming high point...Wow! Then it eases down to a very smooth woody, musky, thought centering "envelope." One swipe lasts for hours and it continues to develop until it finally whispers out..
-Customer (USA)

Shano, I Gotta get me a bottle isA
T.G. (UAE)

Awesome oil
Wish I had a better way of describing it lol. Honey is still there...lots of spices. Hindi psychoactive properties well embedded, depth.
T.G. (UAE)

So I did try Shano Shaukat after I tried Chamkeila. Then I tried both of them together and to be honest both have the same core/base but SS has some green element to it whereas I found Chamkeila to be a bit musky in comparison. I love them both but probably prefer SS over Chamkeila (maybe not.. not really sure which one I prefer :)) Both are awesome!
S.S. (USA)

Very impressed with Shano Shokat. Thinking of a bottle.
M.I. (USA)