BLACK NAGA 2022• 100% wild Cambodian Oud • Kampot, Cambodia

• production : distilled in early December 2022 from one mature tree in the wild forest lowlands of the Kampot region of Southern Cambodia. Distilled in steel with a glass collector. Dedicated and verified artisan distiller.

• scent highlights: A rich, deep, complex, smooth, clean, gently masculine-leaning Oud. Whiskey, dark pipe tobacco, sweet brown spices, lots of dried fruit.

• scent description: This gorgeous classic Cambodian Oud opens with fine smooth malty-caramel whiskey, dark pipe tobacco, simmering cassia and nutmeg, vanilla pod, raisin, and dried apricot, overripe black cherry, apple cider, chamomile flower, and natural licorice root. It has an interesting understated mineralic and black soil note and an elegant, refined, hint of smoke. Most interestingly perhaps, fresh blueberry notes occasionally emerge in the early drydown. Even with all this complexity at the start, the top notes dance seamlessly and smoothly together. Nothing sharp or undesirable. There is only a touch of leather present in this Oud, a soft natural leather that lingers in the background and remains present through all of the drydown. With some time, this Oud relaxes into a slow sweet cruise, showcasing mainly buttery dried fruits and simmering sweet brown spices; dried apricot, a medley of raisins, dried black fig, sweet baking spices like earthy cinnamon, cassia, allspice, and nutmeg; applesauce, brown sugar and butter. The finish is sweet and smooth Oud glory that lasts and lasts.

• special notes: we think this is a special Oud that will age brilliantly. We are eager to see what happens over time.

• notes of controversy: none. No rough edges. No barn. Even the slightly-too-sharp whiskey note right out of the bottle softens within seconds. Smoke, sometimes a less desirable note for some customers, is in harmony here in the most elegant and understated way. A risk worth taking for those wary of smokier Ouds.

• species: A. crassna

Additional notes:

• When we say wild, we mean wild! All our “wild” designated agarwood and oil is from genuine 100% naturally occurring wild forest agarwood trees with no human interventions prior to harvest. Occasionally we might offer other options, but they will be clearly indicated as either “cultivated” (farmed) or “semi-wild” (agarwood growth influenced by human intervention in a natural setting). When we say wild, we mean wild!

• One-tree wonders! We strongly prefer single-tree agarwood harvests and single-tree Oud oil distillations. This has both environmental and aesthetic benefits, capturing the unique essence of a single, fully mature, agarwood tree. When this single-tree preference is not possible we strongly favor combining wood from only a few fully mature trees​ from the same geography, of known provenance, ​supplied by trusted and experienced harvesters. ​(the only exception would be in the case of carefully planned blends or co-distillations which we always describe with precision.) More and more you will see us moving toward single-tree productions. It’s part of our commitment to sustainability and our joy in honoring the individual aromatic “soul” of each tree we harvest.

•​ We try to describe our Oud oils as accurately as possible using common vocabulary from a Western cultural perspective. There might also be some specialized technical or aromatic nomenclature as we seek also to educate and inform our customers. We hope to strike a balance; offering accessibility and straightforwardness while also providing some technical and specialized vocabulary when we think it is informative or necessary.  Our Oud descriptions are subjective and may vary slightly over time due to the effects of aging on Oud's aromatic profile, however, Oud oils will generally only improve with age, and the key features of a particular oil will generally be quite stable over time. We try to repeat the assessment process and update the detailed aromatic description of every Oud oil in our catalog at least once every 12 months. We pride ourselves on detailed accurate descriptions of our Oud oils, and we are happy to receive your constructive feedback on this topic.