When most people begin their oud journey, they usually lean towards the sweet fruity type of ouds. Yet, with each step forward, there's this growing urge that takes over!
An urge that drives us to explore the unknown, the new scent profiles and what they bring, in terms of mood and internal state....and as the craving grows to explore more profiles and more regions, one realizes that oud oils are not the same...
every pure oud has its own character, its own energy....all forged and formulated by the divine...
Oud stops being a mere "scent" to swipe and get compliments on. It morphs into being a personal refuge & sanctuary in this chaotic world! A safe spiritual haven for introspection and solace. It's like a pursuit of enlightenment through fragrance! we become students of this divine scent, expand our awareness and grow our ذوق and taste,....discerning the subtle nuances that delineate a true masterpiece.
Amongst this journey, only a limited number of oud oils shine and act as references to their specific regions. Oils that we unconsciously go back to in the back of our olfactory memory to compare new oils to. If you ask any oud enthusiast, they probably have one reference for what an Old Cambodi would smell like, Hindy, and so on!
When it comes to Tarakan/Borneo, there are 2 main profiles that garner the respect and love by most oud enthusiast and olfactory analysts.
We have offered the first when we launched.
The sparkly shiny woody sweet green,the vanilla honey like sweetness that is paired with the incensy aspect of Tarakan wood. Remember that one?
Yup, you guessed it right...that was Borneo Kin.... and now it's sold out.
Though fear not! it's not the "only" legendary profile for Tarakan Oils.
The Second? is Borneo X.
You probably have stumbled upon Tarakan/Borneo oils before, some were too bitter and woody, some were too dry and acidic to the degree of being vinegary. Some were "dirty" in terms of scent clarity and purity. Such oils could have been marketed using the term "medicinal" to hide the fact that the raw materials distilled are of a lower grade. Some Tarakans in the market are charred and distilled on very high heat, or distilled in an overkill of a steam distillation setup, all to end up with a very smoky profile to compensate for what the raw materials lacked in the first place.
But Borneo X?
It's the scent of old times... It's what oud lovers 20 years ago craved in a Tarakan profile. The scent is vintage, dark yet sparkling emerald green. It's an incensy woody green profile that still has the underlying wild berries sweetness in the background. This is not a charred smoky oil, but it's ultra incensy, comparable to placing a high grade Tarakan chip on a Kōdō heater. the green notes are not prickly or sharp, they're like a rounded emerald engulfed by ancient old vintage incense vapors, on a bed of dark wild berries drizzled with blackforest honey. The sweetness that emerges is the delicious kind of sweetness. it's woody sweet, not cloying nor overly sweet, just the perfect amount to balance out the green medicinal woodiness. The sweetness takes over in the drydown dipped in purple blue incense vapors, formulating a delicious aura that is both energizing and anchoring.
If you consider oud to be a divine gift, and if you need one oil as a reference to what a true high grade Tarakan representation might be, then this oil is for you. This is an oil that you'll be coming back to,...to sniff...smile and marvel in happiness that you were able to acquire some. We usually take things (& Oud Oils) for granted, and one day wake up to the fact that we were presented with an opportunity and missed out on it....Then we start seeking decants and grams from other collectors for marked up prices, all to pursue the magnificence of such legendary profiles.
This?...is one of those oils...and this...is your opportunity.
Borneo - Tarakan, Indonesia
2019