Hatkora

Hatkhora

There is a region in the northeast of the subcontinent that rarely receives the recognition it deserves. Sylhet was once administered as part of Assam under the British Raj, and it is from this lush and rain soaked land that some of the finest agarwood in the world now emerges. I have long believed that Sylheti oud possesses a character quite distinct from its more celebrated cousins, a particular balance of roast coffee and dark chocolate that announces its origin as clearly as a signature. When I resolved to create a fragrance that would honour this terroir, I knew I would need to go further than simply showcasing the oud itself.

The shatkora is the culinary treasure of Sylhet, a citrus fruit that defies easy comparison. It is not sweet like an orange nor purely sour like a lemon but occupies its own territory entirely, imparting to the dishes of this region a tangy complexity that haunts the palate long after the meal has ended. I became fascinated with the idea of capturing this fruit in perfumery, and after considerable effort I commissioned what I believe to be the world's first essential oil distilled from the shatkora. The result exceeded my hopes. The oil carries that unmistakable character, bright and unusual, with an almost savoury quality beneath the citrus that hints at the curries and bhuna dishes where it finds its most celebrated expression.

For the oud itself, I turned to oil distilled from trees of approximately eighty years of age, the same exceptional material that found its way into Creed's Zarian. I have used it generously because I wanted there to be no question about what you are smelling. I have grown weary of compositions that claim to feature oud only to bury it beneath a cacophony of synthetic fruits that bear no relation whatsoever to the land from which the wood was harvested. Sylhet is not a place of artificial sweetness. It is a place of tea gardens and wetlands, of ancient trees and monsoon rains, and its oud deserves to be presented with honesty and respect.

What emerges from the combination of these elements is something I can only describe as a gourmand experience of an entirely different order. The darkness of the oud, with its coffee and chocolate undertones, meets the bright tang of the shatkora in a pairing that feels simultaneously unexpected and inevitable. There is an earthiness here that grounds the composition, a sense of soil and root and bark, and against this the citrus plays like sunlight breaking through the canopy of a forest.

I have named this fragrance Hatkhora, using the local pronunciation of the fruit that inspired it. It is my tribute to an unsung corner of the world that has given us so much, and my attempt to bring together the flora of Sylhet in a way that feels true to the place itself. When you wear it, I hope you will taste as much as smell, and that somewhere in its depths you will catch a glimpse of those green hills where the agarwood grows old and the shatkora hangs heavy on the branch.

Volume: Available in a 15ml or 30ml glass bottle