Santal 95

Get this, there are plenty of sandalwood offerings available on the market, everyone wants that Mysorean fix, yet rarely anyone gets it. A bunch of ammonia smelling oils to choose from, yet none offer that great butter-cream dose that induces wrist-to-nose syndrome.

In case you’re wondering, Santal 95 ain’t Mysore, it’s Timor! While we all know the story surrounding Mysore, rarely anyone hears about Timor.

Timorese Sandalwood first entered the market in 1436 via the Chinese only to later be overtook by Portuguese colonization. It’s been said that the abundance of Sandalwood in East Timor was legendary, to the extent that the natives of nearby regions used Timorese Sandalwood as currency for trade.

The scale of harvesting was so high that in the early decades of the 1900’s, they had to reduce harvesting from 900,000kg to a mere 20,000kg annually to allow the jungles to restore. If you thought that was the end of it, you’re wrong… In 1975 Indonesia invaded East Timor, during which it was robbed of its natural resources, including Timorese Sandalwood. Santal 95 was born during the Indonesian occupation of Timor. Distilled in Timor, by the Timorese, in a Timorese distillery, in 1995.

And while it might sound like a sad tale to tell, we can’t always control the world around us. This oil ended up in our hands by sheer luck. It’s profile opens with a gentle tartness before quickly drying into an edible and slightly herbal butter and cream.

I’ve written an in depth note composition on this special oil for your enjoyment:

Velvety cream, butter, tart, fleeting green herbs, floral white powder

So if you’re looking for that edible-creamy Mysorean fix, don’t wait up. Grab a bottle of our Timor-born Santal 95, this stuff doesn’t grow on trees…. (well, it kinda does, but do you really want to age it yourself or 24 years?)

2.5g in a glass bottle