SOTD

I have not try the IO Sinensis, but use to have around a bit less than 2 ml sample purchase directly from Eden of “Eden Botanicals' CO2 Assam extract” from end of 2015.
Well something do not add up here, Eden Botanicals' CO2 Assam extract was disgusting glue substance with smell not even close to any agarwood resin, oil or wood I have experience on the other hand I have see only excellent reviews of IO Sinensis.
I am I but confuse with this comparing.

Same here... I bought a small sample of Eden Botanicals CO2 Agarwood resin in 2012... out of curiosity. It was NASTY. I smelled it a couple of times and never went back to it.

Fragrant Harbour is an amazing Oud. I compared the sublime Ensar Oud Kyara Koutan with it and for a fresh oil, Fragrant Harbour did really well. It will only get better with age I reckon.

Today its the amazing Borneo 3000 @Ensar what was the difference between the first and second versions? Kyarazen who is a well known Kyara expert spoke very highly of IO sinensis and compared it to gently heated high quality chinese woods, i think its a great oil and the first sweet smelling Chinese oil i've smelt.

I haven't had the chance to smell the recent batch of Eden Botanicals extract. I smelled one years ago and can't remember what region it was from, but it was light, a little medicinal, mildly sweet and airy. Anyway, here's what I had to say about Imperial Oud's Sinensis over on Pearldict.com.

@PEARL
If my eden oil was like yours: little medicinal, mildly sweet and airy. I was going to get a full oz. of it but it was total garbage compare to even the worst oud oil I have try it before.

I have a bit of the Eden CO2 oud extract from perhaps 5 years ago. Not very complex or particularly engaging but very nice woody oud scent. Would be great for blending. Considering the price, far from garbage, IMO.

My review, in case you missed it, was positive. Sinensis is a fine specimen of cultivated agarwood CO2 extract. It is NOT an oud oil. The Eden extract (early 2000's) was also a CO2 extract of cultivated agarwood; not oud oil. – As such, these two extracts have more in common with each other than they do with anything else in the realm of true oud.

The predominant notes of beeswax, pollen, balsam & sea breeze (iodine & salt) are not inherent in the raw materials; rather they emerge as a natural reaction to subjecting those materials to supercritical carbon dioxide extraction. Which makes them what? You guessed it! Auxiliary notes.

It's like comparing rose absolutes to rose ottos. The absolutes will have more in common with each other (despite any differences of origin and even of quality) than they will with rose ottos (a completely different aromatic).

Thank you for clearing it, maybe to me it smelled bad ( kind of like if you give assam oil to person only use to creed perfumes) because I was only familiar with oud oils, not with extractions or smell of pure resin. To me even KZ85 do not smell like oud but some other substance I even post it while back on ouddict when first try it that I do not think it is oud at all. And as I say I have only read nothing but very good reviews of the IO extraction that's why I was so surprise about the comparing the 2 items.

@Ensar I agree with that 100%. Sinensis does have the notes as I described, but the only thing I did and still to this day relate it to is another extract. It's quite interesting that when I first tried KZ85 I understood why people wondered what it was, I could detect notes and describe them using adjectives that I'd use for oud oil, but it didn't smell like oud oil; the only thing that it most closely resembles is IO's Sinensis, another extract.

I think IO deserve a lot of credit for taking the initiative to introduce non-traditional / unconventional extracts of agarwood.

People are still confused about KZ85 ('Is it Oud? Is it not Oud?') and what we really need to do at this point is compile a definitive definition of 'Oud' for the edification of all...

'Oud' is the distillate of agarwood essential oil via steam or hydro distillation. Anything else, while being an agarwood extract, falls outside of the realm of 'Oud'.

Just as a genuine jasmine sambac absolute or CO2 will never become Ruh Motia, so too a CO2 extract of agarwood cannot be (and should not be expected to be) Oud.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Habibi Enzo Ferrari,

Hence me referring to them as extract or extract oil.

I too applaud Imperial Oud, and not just for their extract, their Sinensis confirmed for me that KZ85 is indeed an agarwood extract as many had thought, as I had nothing else to compare it to before Sinensis. I wrote that to Mandeel because I couldn't believe that no one else who smelled them both caught the similarities, and if they did they never wrote about it.

I know my experience is only with a sample size of 2 and one I can't recall well, but I wonder if the type of scent profile diversity that we see displayed in oud oils translates to extracts. My nose tells me that they don't because with those two the unique top notes are very fleeting leaving only the same incensey, resinous core. Is there anyone with much more exposure to agarwood extracts that can answer that query?

Started with amazingly beautiful Sultan Sufiyan last evening.
End up with Oud Sultani at morning.
From noon Tigerwood Royale.

I also compared IO Sinensis with the Eden Botanicals extract. They share a certain damp, sweet woodiness, but the Agallocha is much woodier and the Sinensis is spicier and more complex overall.

It seems like there were two quite distinct batches @peter4ptv because some people, including myself, enjoyed their Assamese extract and others have compared it to glue. Santal Claus of Ouddict agreed with my assessment; Ammar said it was like glue. So perhaps people have different batches from different times. Anyway, I also meant it as a compliment because I really enjoy Sinensis and I liked the EB extract also.

Anyway, to get back to the thread. Today is the supreme Xiang Liao Ling.

As it happens, I am a filaria addict. I found that out the moment I smelled this oud and recognised the smell of the rainforest floor.

For a while I really did think 'what is the point of the rest of my ouds when I have this here'. Blasphemous, I know, but such was my ecstasy at finding the scent I've ben searching for my whole life.

The most astonishing thing about it is the balance between the various jungle elements, and especially that thread of coolness which runs through it and quenches the thirst that the humidity creates. It is really a very rare and precious smell for anyone who has spent time in that kind of environment - truly the most beautiful smell one encounters in the rainforest. Without having any experience with marokes before, surely this must be a masterpiece of distillation simply for the balance of notes.

I knew I would love it from the description but I didn't expect this degree of love!

Thank you sidi and where i do agree with your points regarding complimentary notes, the extract we presented was centred around the aroma of aloeresin, in my humble opinion. Comments from many Oud aficionados compared the aroma to gently heated Sinensis wood, the bubbling resin oozing out under low heat.
To me the oil distilled from wood contains more of the auxiliary notes, be they floral, mint/ eucalyptus, citrus,fermentation etc. Not that I am knocking these, I love the variety in scent profiles an oil can present, and i think Oils will always be my first true love.
I guess this was our first attempt at #MOFA. By the way what kind of extraction was used for Guallam Solide, didnt get to try any of it so cannot compare against other extracts.

When Kyara Koutan was distilled in 2006-7, the trees that Fragrant Harbour was distilled from weren't even seeds yet. Let that sink in for a moment…

I agree, but I think 'Oud' should be changed to 'Oud oil' since Oud is just the wood, where as Oud oil is the distillate of agarwood essential oil via steam/hydro distillation as you've said. Then that would put CO2 extraction in it's own category.

Oud of the day: K - EO
mmmm, tobacco, wet premium pipe tobacco. yum.

Yes to be quite honest @Ouddict although Fragrant Harbour outwardly hits a similar note (but even this is only one of several that are ongoing with KK), there is an immense inherent complexity in Kyara Koutan that I don't think can ever be caught up with.

In fact I think there are several leagues of difference between the two. Especially the radiance when KK hits the skin is something that surely is beyond comparison with a cultivated oil.

What gently heated, oozing and bubbling resin, ya sidi? Did you manage to get resin from 5-10 year-old trees?