Oud Meghalayan Jungle E.O

Adam Michael and Eleonora Scalseggi have this to say “This is jungle grown oud obtained from the border between the Indian state of Meghalaya and Bangladeshi city of Sylhet. Yes, this could be marketed as being wild oud like others would do so, however in this instance what we have here is human involvement prior to the tree being felled hence using the term …. jungle-grown instead of wild. To expand further, the human involvement would include possibly planting oud seedlings in the jungle, removing trees that are too close together and thus competing for the soils nutrients and sunlight. At that point the tree is left to grow in the jungle, but it will also be cut/scratched to enable the tree’s protection function to kick in and in turn speed up the process of obtaining the oud.

Aromatically if you think that oud cannot be both animalic and non-offensive then this soaked Meghalayan Indian oud might seriously challenge your convictions, like it did for us.

This Meghalaya oud (often more expensive than Assamese) is one of those rare Indian oud materials that manages to master the fine balance between animalic and non-repulsive. It does open with barnyard notes, wood-smoke, the smell of animals and civet tonalities, and yet it feels very cosy and comforting, velvety and enveloping like a furry blanket you want to snuggle in. Within the first hour and from the strip, this material starts to settle down, the dominant animalic qualities soften slightly and in doing so, the aroma of castoreum and grinded hyraceum shine through and take centre stage. This follows on with an aroma comparable to smelling aged nagarmotha, so a musty, dry woody, rooty, earthy and trace spice-tinged encapsulated profile. Throughout the whole experience the cresol-varnish aspects flitter in and out of detection and for me within an eight-hour period from the strip I detect leather, hot-slate, dry straw, tamarind, Oriental tobacco profiles with some gourmand chestnut paste, red salt, liquorice and caramel fudge.

So clearly this isn’t a clean, incense-y type oud, and if incense-y clean oud is the profile you are looking for then this is not for you and Thai ouds would be the better option. If, however, you are considering venturing in animalic ouds and are a bit apprehensive about the barnyard notes, or if you find Cambodi oud a bit too poo-y to your liking, this material’s better balance and a smoother profile could just hit the spot. Still a barnyard material yes, but with more gentle ways about it, and of truly outstanding quality.”

Botanical Name: Aquilaria agallocha

Origin: India

Alcohol Soluble: Yes

Oil Soluble: Yes

Jungle Material