Oud Biz: The Dark Side

Taha

Taha

Well-Known Member
#1
#1
I got to meet Ahmad recently after a very long time. It was... interesting. Poor guy cried. We reminisced. We sniffed some Betonamu Jinkoh (which he had cooked). He also got to try Ceylon No.1, after which there was a rather long moment of silence. Then he uttered, "jannatul firdaus..."
Poet's poem, @Ensar? ;) He was my prize horse after all.

Any how, I managed to talk him into helping me cure oils. And just today, I also convinced him to help me with grinding wood too! That's the two most annoying steps in the distillation life cycle.

oldgang.jpg
bliss.jpg
 
Ensar Oud

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#3
#3
Taha said:
I got to meet Ahmad recently after a very long time. It was... interesting. Poor guy cried. We reminisced. We sniffed some Betonamu Jinkoh (which he had cooked). He also got to try Ceylon No.1, after which there was a rather long moment of silence. Then he uttered, "jannatul firdaus..."
Poet's poem, @Ensar? ;) He was my prize horse after all.
Click to expand...
It's absolutely heartbreaking, the way things unfolded for you and them... but I have no doubt that only good will come out of the new developments we discussed.

Speaking of Sri Lanka, I salute you from Sinharaja... :cool:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=967377036698538
 
Ensar Oud

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#5
#5
Well, the time is a bit tight for too much detail, but it's like you've traveled back in time to the most primitive distillation facilities possible. We have a LOT of work to do here in order to bring these guys up to speed and Make it Fragrant Again.......... And I'm just not sure how feasible or worthwhile that would be, given the clandestine nature of agarwood and the dire penalties that they face if caught harvesting, distilling, or even so much as transporting any amount of agarwood. These guys are too paranoid to breathe, let alone discuss condensers, grinding methods and distillation pots...

More details to follow.
 
F

Faizal_p

New Member
#7
#7
Interesting observations, agree with the points regarding the ever increasing price of raw materials and yes most distillers have very rudimentary setups, however if you have the right connections...;)


Faheem spent a good couple of weeks understanding the lay of the land, trekking upwards of 8km in the jungles and establishing relationships with jungle folk.
 
Ouddict

Ouddict

Member
#8
#8
Faizal_p said:
Interesting observations, agree with the points regarding the ever increasing price of raw materials and yes most distillers have very rudimentary setups, however if you have the right connections...;)


Faheem spent a good couple of weeks understanding the lay of the land, trekking upwards of 8km in the jungles and establishing relationships with jungle folk.
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Wow... when did Faheem go?
 
H

Habz786

New Member
#9
#9
Wow nice video guys, the raw material looks great and the oils are fantastico. When are the new ones being released? @Ensar have you been to Sri Lanka before? If so how has the scene changed?
 
Ensar Oud

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#10
#10
Faizal_p said:
Interesting observations, agree with the points regarding the ever increasing price of raw materials and yes most distillers have very rudimentary setups, however if you have the right connections...;)
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Hmmm..... Interesting. Our connection is a veteran distiller with over 30 years experience distilling cinnamon, clove, sandalwood, vetiver, jasmine and agarwood oils. Are you sure your connection is more 'right' than that? ;)




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Ouddict

Ouddict

Member
#11
#11
Ensar said:
Hmmm..... Interesting. Our connection is a veteran distiller with over 30 years experience distilling cinnamon, clove, sandalwood, vetiver, jasmine and agarwood oils. Are you sure your connection is more 'right' than that? ;)




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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As Adam from Feel-Oud says... "irrespective of the years of experience producers have in the distillation of agarwood, in the end what matters is the aroma of the product that comes from the boiler." :)

Look forward to more gems from Sri Lanka...
 
F

Faizal_p

New Member
#14
#14
MashaAllah good to see you've had success this time around. It's good to see ouddicts will get to try an abundance of Walla patta oils. With our continual investment our latest iterations have started to yield some intriguing results:

IMG-20170405-WA0004.jpg IMG-20170326-WA0011.jpg

Guess he must be right o_O
 
Ensar Oud

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#16
#16
Faizal_p said:
MashaAllah good to see you've had success this time around. It's good to see ouddicts will get to try an abundance of Walla patta oils. With our continual investment our latest iterations have started to yield some intriguing results:

View attachment 524 View attachment 525

Guess he must be right o_O
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No doubt! #MOCA... one tola at a time! :D

The only question is, what is that aroma coming from the boilers... and is the price as 'reasonable' as it is made out to be? ;)
 
Ensar Oud

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#18
#18
Oudamberlove said:
Yep, is it going to be Oud, or Oudh:)
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A mineral soak in a mud pot, shrouded in steel or copper is what most ouddicts recognize as 'Oudh'... The absence of resin from the core ('Z axis') escapes most noses...

And we distilled just the oil to give everyone as a take-home DIY 'kit' for calibrating the nose to sniff out true oleoresin from the dissimulation of accessory notes. :eek:
 
F

Faizal_p

New Member
#19
#19
As they say the proof of the pudding is in the eating...
Safe journey back, and next time you're in Bradford be sure to let me know, we'll go for dessert ;)
I'm off to go sleep like a baby now
 
Ensar Oud

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#20
#20
Thanks for your duas... Sadly, for most people the 'pudding' consists of convenience foods and flavor enhancers [read: accessory notes] which are very different from Real Food. I wouldn't need to go to Bradford – I've got @Oud Learner's magic box of chocolates an arm's length away. I've tasted.

Now's the time to ouducate! :)
 
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