Maroke Sultani

The common theme with most of the oils that we are releasing during this campaign is that they remind me of the legendary ouds I spent a fortune on and used to wear commonly 12-15 years ago. These are ouds of a calibre that are not easily found nowadays, if at all, unless they come with a huge price tag accompanying the bottle. The first thing I noticed about this Maroke, is the lack of an almost harsh or very strong earthy woody note to it which is found in cheaper Maroke distillations.

The opening starts with a beautiful and elegant smell of green Kinam. That is deep and comes in continuous waves for the first few minutes without any let up.  Also present are beautiful forest notes reminiscent of the most elegant Indonesian oils I've ever smelled. Although I loathe the term Kinam due to its overuse and association with ouds that simply don’t deserve the epithet, there is a genuine Kinam DNA here that I've I recognized from several high-grade Artisanal Ouds that I've had in the past. The strange thing is that these oils don't all hail from Maroke. The opening note in this oud reminds me of some amazing Hong Kong and Burmese oils that I've had in the past.

It's incredibly hard to believe that this was distilled only last year. But then again, it was distilled from sinking and partially sinking grade wood. Again, a huge rarity in our times. We don't have much of this oil, but if you want to have an oil in your collection that is a marker for the best that oud can be, then acquiring this beauty is a must.

At dry down, the Maroke Sultani is akin to walking through a tropical forest with an exquisite note that is not herbaceous, not floral, and definitely not fruity or earthy, but manages to be all of that and none at the same time. 

It's oud, but not as you know it and is liquid proof of the potential of what Oud can really be and the heights to which it can reach.  A few oils come along now and again to remind you of the majesty of Oud and how and why there's such hype about it, and why people have spent fortunes to acquire these oils. And to really and truly understand that, when you smell an oil of this calibre, you understand why.

2.5g bottle depicted is for illustration purposes only 

Both 1g and 2.5g bottles are available to purchase.