03/19/2024
DrB1414
143 Reviews
DrB1414
1
A Red Diamond Shining in the Dark
Oud Ahmad from Ensar Oud.
Ahmad is the second oud oil that stopped me in my tracks when I first smelled it. Having a stronger impact than any other before it. It is hands-down the most special aromatic I have ever smelled until now. To think that this entire olfactory journey comes from a single material, that being wood, is mind-bending. It just goes to prove once more that at the end of this journey, the material that reigns supreme is Oud, and after that, there is nothing.
Oud Ahmad is indeed special among oud oils, unique, and will require some sitting down, to fully grasp its grandeur. I was gifted a tiny amount of this oil several years ago when I started to navigate these waters. This is not an oud oil to try at the beginning of your oud journey. It's like starting to learn the piano and hoping to learn Liszt's "La Campanella" within your first year. It would be a wasted experience. When I tried it back then, I only remember thinking to myself, "This one is too big for me to grasp".
I do appreciate it now.
This oil is dark and evil, with a glowing red core. Its complexity puzzles me, and I believe that down the road I will continue to discover new facets to it. A few words that come to mind smelling Oud Ahmad are black musk, dried apricots, cherries, black incense, velvet, and wood. The opening is a blast of dark Malay resinous sweetness laced with dried apricots and red cherries. A faint hint of cooling camphor can be detected if inhaled deep. This camphorous note is playing hide and seek. It pops in and out, never constant. Soon after the sweet opening, the musk comes in and stays for a good amount of time, taking over the scent profile. It smells like actual deer musk. Smooth, velvety, almost chocolaty, with none of the pungent, urinous facets. There is a creamy facet that plays along the musk, and the apricots start to make a return. It is not a fruity oil, just barely, providing extra strokes of color. After a while, the fruits disappear, and this red beam of color pierces through the scent profile, settling in the heart of it like a glittering light in the darkness. At this point, I perceive what I'd describe as a "sweet bloody musk accord". Unholy and ancient. Soft touches of earthiness add to it. In the later stages, as the musk chord dims out, the smooth wood facet appears, emanating a soft black smoke. A dark room, barely lit by a red light, permeated by black smoke, seen through a silk veil. This is the dry-down of Ahmad.
It is an oil that smells ancestral and mysterious. It is not the most beautiful oil I have smelled, or the most exuberant, it is however, the most special, no doubt. I can see this one becoming a favorite of mine. Love it or hate it, I believe any oud aficionado should own even 0.1 grams of this oil for reference. Occasionally unscrew the vial cap and take a deep breath, to remind yourself of what oud can be, used to be, and why it is considered the most complex, special, and expensive perfume material.
IG:@memory.of.scents
Ahmad is the second oud oil that stopped me in my tracks when I first smelled it. Having a stronger impact than any other before it. It is hands-down the most special aromatic I have ever smelled until now. To think that this entire olfactory journey comes from a single material, that being wood, is mind-bending. It just goes to prove once more that at the end of this journey, the material that reigns supreme is Oud, and after that, there is nothing.
Oud Ahmad is indeed special among oud oils, unique, and will require some sitting down, to fully grasp its grandeur. I was gifted a tiny amount of this oil several years ago when I started to navigate these waters. This is not an oud oil to try at the beginning of your oud journey. It's like starting to learn the piano and hoping to learn Liszt's "La Campanella" within your first year. It would be a wasted experience. When I tried it back then, I only remember thinking to myself, "This one is too big for me to grasp".
I do appreciate it now.
This oil is dark and evil, with a glowing red core. Its complexity puzzles me, and I believe that down the road I will continue to discover new facets to it. A few words that come to mind smelling Oud Ahmad are black musk, dried apricots, cherries, black incense, velvet, and wood. The opening is a blast of dark Malay resinous sweetness laced with dried apricots and red cherries. A faint hint of cooling camphor can be detected if inhaled deep. This camphorous note is playing hide and seek. It pops in and out, never constant. Soon after the sweet opening, the musk comes in and stays for a good amount of time, taking over the scent profile. It smells like actual deer musk. Smooth, velvety, almost chocolaty, with none of the pungent, urinous facets. There is a creamy facet that plays along the musk, and the apricots start to make a return. It is not a fruity oil, just barely, providing extra strokes of color. After a while, the fruits disappear, and this red beam of color pierces through the scent profile, settling in the heart of it like a glittering light in the darkness. At this point, I perceive what I'd describe as a "sweet bloody musk accord". Unholy and ancient. Soft touches of earthiness add to it. In the later stages, as the musk chord dims out, the smooth wood facet appears, emanating a soft black smoke. A dark room, barely lit by a red light, permeated by black smoke, seen through a silk veil. This is the dry-down of Ahmad.
It is an oil that smells ancestral and mysterious. It is not the most beautiful oil I have smelled, or the most exuberant, it is however, the most special, no doubt. I can see this one becoming a favorite of mine. Love it or hate it, I believe any oud aficionado should own even 0.1 grams of this oil for reference. Occasionally unscrew the vial cap and take a deep breath, to remind yourself of what oud can be, used to be, and why it is considered the most complex, special, and expensive perfume material.
IG:@memory.of.scents
