Malacca Oud Chips (Al Hashimi, 2017) Review

Wild Malaccan Oud Chips (Al Hashimi, 2017)

These Aquilaria malaccensis chips smell divine even at room temperature - spicy, hint of orange peel, earthy, slightly petrichorish (if there is such word), and most importantly woody (hinting towards a wonderful incense note). I have yet put these fragrant nuggets on to the burner as I prefer colder weather to 'optimise' my enjoyment. There is a labdanum type sweetness in it too.

Update: I just burned a tiny (rice grain) amount at low temperature (around 9-10 volts range) as I simply could not resist anymore! The initial hay, woody and earthy notes' combination, followed by the incensy menthol is superb. I wish there was an attar with that aroma only. It then starts spilling out its spice notes, more specifically cinnamon and cardamom and a bit of orange peel in the distance. The orange peel thingy is quite distant. I was not sure about it when I was smelling the wood at room temperature. It is clearer whilst burning - albeit whispering to my olfactive.

It then becomes sweeter and incensier. At this later stage, I also get hint of crushed black pepper or red chilli - somehow similar to frying either up and then crushing them in a mortar. It is probably due to the slower aroma exhaustion from the dense resin, which in turn, is a product of a relatively lower burning temperature.

After half an hour its vanilla like sweetness intensifies even more. I think this is what I detected as a labdanum like sweetness whilst smelling the chips by hand.

The cinnamon and cardamom mix at this stage not clearly noticeable to my nose. But if I leave the room and come back I can then detect them, albeit at a very low intensity. There are some spices too, that cannot detect yet. For that I need to spend more time with these beauties.

In short, this is a sweet and spicy incense with a velvety sweet hay and a big dollop of menthol at the start.