Agar Aura - pure oud products

Sumatora Jinkoh

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Description
Reviews

Part of our Jinkoh Series, and Agar Aura's first-ever Sumatran oud oil, we are very excited to present Sumatora Jinkoh.

We had to be very picky in choosing the right jungle for the raw material. The agarwood had to be from one of four jungles of North Sumatra to accurately replicate the unique scent profile of Sumatora (寸門多羅) wood of Japanese Rikkoku-Gomi kits.
Veer off too far from the right jungles (and the right species, and the necessary high quality of raw materials), and the resulting oil would be entirely different.
We decided on Barus, a northwest Sumatran coastal jungle, and the raw material displayed all the salient scent notes we were after.

With a character that truly defines 'island jungly', Sumatora Jinkoh is an oceanic oud, with a predominantly dry-woody character that trumps the driest of Cedars, and an addictive medicinal-oudy base. Not medicinal in an abrasive way, but rather more like a cup of aged Yue Guang Bai puerh tea - deep in the core but with delightful brighter nuances exalting it.

Staying true to the archetype set forth by the Japanese incense masters, we had to ensure that Sumatora Jinkoh displayed 'salty' (oceanic) and 'sour' (fruity) notes.
But at the end of the day, this oil is meant to be worn as perfume, so to tastefully maintain the oceanic notes we had to tame the saltiness.

Our two-fold solution turned out to be quite effective.
Firstly, we went with a hybrid copper+steel setup. The steel imparted the necessary dry (think straw or papyrus) and bitter elements necessary to balance out the marine qualities, whereas the copper brought out the subtle honeyed nuances as well as a subtle apple rind aroma which emerges as the oud develops on the skin.
Also, the temperature was gently fluctuated when extracting the heart notes to really make the incensey notes 'pop'.

Those of you who are familiar with ambergris will be delighted to find a healthy dose of silver ambergris notes in the heart of this oud, crowned by sweeter highlights of golden ambergris in the top notes.
The end result is quite marvelous.
Instead of smelling like damp seaweed or salty beef broth (i.e. most Sumatran oud oils), you get a sparkling fusion of dry woods and ambergris (imagine a 40:40:20 mix of Manaka Jinkoh, golden ambergris, and silver ambergris). A complete perfume.

Like your ouds sparkly, oceanic and fresh? Sumatora Jinkoh is the oud for you.

Taking time out with Sumatora alone on a Sunday duvet day, day dreaming through the beautiful thought journeys this oil can take you also has its addictive place too. How wonderful.
A.B. (UK)

Love the woodiness of the Sumatora Jinkoh - and amazing scent arising on the drydown.
J.M. (USA)

It was worth waiting on; this is beautiful. And to think that I almost missed out on ordering a bottle of it! Everyone who ordered your Sumatora Jinkoh as a sample but didn’t seize a bottle of it then, should retest it now before you sell out. I actually find that I like it as much as your remarkable Manaka Jinkoh.
M.I. (USA)

Just to dab a bit on my wrist and live and experience the extraordinary perfume for a number of hours is a joy.
J.B. (UK)

Sumatora is unlike any Sumatra oil I smelled so far, it is so well balanced and nice.
A.K. (France)

I am very drawn to its crisp feeling. It has that quality that Ketenangan Jumaten and [...]. It is basically what I look for in an oud.
B.J. (USA)

Holee...I don't have the words to describe this oil. There are so many incredible scent profiles going on all at once, but it's not a jumbled mess. Each note rises up for a fleeting second only to be replaced by another...all the while with a constant mild green undertone holding it all together.
This is fantastic!
S.P. (Canada)

Sumatora starts off with slight salty note of classic sumatran oil just like the first wiff of slowly heated sumatra chips on KZ burner. Its like this oil is filtered through pristine glacier waters where all that is left is sheer brilliance.
F.A. (UK)

Sumatora also amazes me. Although I don't have extensive experience, I have not smelled an oud like it. The salty and sour aspects really do bring to mind a jungly oceanic image. This oud is softer on my skin than Rakkoku and keeps the salty/sour profile for a very long time.
R.W. (USA)

This one is a very pretty oil! The drydown..... oh myyyy.. Ok, before that takes place (lol), from the swipe, there's a burst of fresh moss and vanilla, yet with just barely perceptible humidity or dampness underneath. In fact, initially, I swiped twice, just to experience that mossy vanilla. It's remarkably close to a Borneo in some ways, and that's probably the reason the notes form such a fantastic balance (and eventually cohesion): it evolves into something so complete, so whole, so fresh but gentle, so sweet but woody.... I can't even explain this precisely, this scent is like a creature all of its own! Once fully in drydown, there is literally not a single note I can pull out, other than ghostly haunts of experiences past, which are coaxed out every time I take a whiff: sometimes I catch powdery warmth of amber resin, sometimes warm sandalwood, other times I swear I'm wearing the most luscious ambergris attar! It's probably fair to say that ambergris is a unifying factor here since I seem to go back to it again and again. And soooo incredibly refined! In essence, this is one of those oils that's a true, complete perfume. Not even a complex, layered oud, but a seamless fragrance. Btw, vanilla never quite leaves the scent, but evolves, and imbues it with what eventually becomes the tenderest animalic confiture to ever grace one's nostrils. And while I love Manaka, I will be getting this one first :)
C.G. (USA)

The Sumatra jinkoh has some similarities to Jumanten for sure. I put one of each on separate wrists and they share beautiful wet qualities. Dry down on Sumatora is strong, in a good way. Love it.
M.N. (Canada)