Wisdom Keeper • In-house 2022 ancient single-tree Oud distillation • Koh Kong Cambodia

Wisdom Keeper in-house wild Oud is distilled from a single, very large, very old, and deeply infected wild agarwood tree we obtained from the Koh Kong region of Cambodia. A fantastic find deep in the highland jungles of Koh Kong.

An incredible journey from start to finish, Wisdom Keeper is for those seeking a top-shelf, connoisseurs Oud experience, celebrating complex olfactory transitions, dynamic unfolding, and the occasional surprise; all beautifully harmonized on a classic Cambodian Oud substrate.

• key highlights: Peaty Scotch whiskey, cigars, natural leather, dark spices, black fruit… and so much more! Complex, intense, dynamic, masculine. Unusually mosaic and exotic with a huge variety of other notes present and in constant movement.

• production: August 2022 distillation at Aroma Sublime headquarters by Tha Bolton. Copper still, glass condenser. A slightly higher temperature than our usual minimal effective temperature approach (“ultra low temperature distillation”), but without pressure. Three-day continuous distillation.

• scent description: Wisdom Keeper opens with a pronounced Scotch bar and cigar lounge theme straight from the bottle. Lots of warm natural leather. Though the very first impression might seem a little aggressive, there are no unpleasant notes here, and this Oud’s complexity, fullness, and promise is evident in the first moments of its sumptuous drydown journey. Immediately you’ll delight in emerging notes of black peppercorn, cut vanilla pod, ripe black cherry, cinnamon, and a touch of something green and salty. There is only a little smoke that is beautifully harmonized with early notes and disappears completely towards the heart. Soon you will notice black tea, palm sugar, fine dark chocolate, succulent dates, golden raisins, buttery baked something, figgy jam, simmering nutmeg, cassia, more fine black peppercorn and vanilla, full-bodied dark roasted coffee, finest dark cacao… There is a wonderful dynamic dance here, with many early notes seeming to come back around for another visit well into the drydown. Fresh black plum, fig, and grape make a showing, along with something grassy, sunny, and nostalgic that peeks through once in a while. Rolling out ever more smoothly and slowly towards the end, you’ll land comfortably in an enduring plateau of rosewood, silky fig and plum jam, a finely stocked cigar humidor, all on a cozy soft leather couch.

• notes of controversy: might seem initially sharp or aggressive at first impression when sampled right from the bottle. Don’t be fooled. Expect a beautiful complex drydown without any heavy notes of concern or controversy. We also expect this exceptional Oud to consistently improve with age.

• species: Aquilaria 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.