Purple Kinam Ensar Oud / Oriscent Oud Oil
3
Narcotic
Oriscent Purple Kinam. This is a special oud oil, no doubt, one that deserves its fame and status - marvelous technical achievement from the distiller who crafted this.
This is Oud Sultani, Kannan Koh, and Berkilau transmuted by the Oriscent treatment. Saying I love those oils is an understatement, as they rank in my top 5 oud oils. Add a few others like Ahmad, Emperor of Kedah V1, Grand Emperor of Kedah, Purple Malay, and Oud Mahmoud. I simply love that deep, sweet, resinous, and floral Malaysian DNA that is so difficult to come by. What if you take that DNA and craft it Oriscent style? You get the likes of Purple Kinam and then Kelantan. In this case, with Purple Kinam, you crank up the piercing qualities of the oil and the woody facets. The resinous quality is not the main focus anymore, while the vivid floracy and the purple color become more abstract. The way White Kinam takes the Malinau DNA and presents it through the Oriscent lens. Everything becomes elevated, less contoured, more abstract, piercing, and woody.
The opening of this oil is piercing, unlike many Oriscents, which feel rather vaporous. It shoots through your brain and has a powerful narcotic quality. It feels sharp and metallic. You can almost taste the oil at this stage. To that piercing-metallic quality, there is this psychedelic purple-pink color that comes across as hazy florals and fruits, alongside a peculiar zestiness. I like to think of extraterrestrial flowers, grapes, and plums, having a party in a spaceship while high on LSD. This is the opening of Purple Kinam for me. "Narcotic" is the best word to describe it.
After the initial blast, it calms down significantly. It settles and shapes into something more recognizable as an Oriscent oud oil. The woody quality takes center stage. This is where I feel it deters from the likes of Sultani. Whereas the latter becomes more vividly floral and noticeably sweet and resinous, Purple Kinam becomes increasingly woody. A deep, ancient-smelling wood aroma that I find with other high-caliber Oriscents like Royal Kinam 1, White Kinam, and Kyara de Kalbar. Here, that woody facet has a Bornean flair, sharing some of that Indonesian DNA. The floracy and the purple hue remain, but in the background and less overt. It fades away in this cloud of smoke. An abstract purple floral quality that feels diffusive rather than tangible. That sweet, resinous facet is faded here. There is very little sweetness to this oil, as well as very little of that oleoresinous DNA. The focus here is on the woody nuances. It continues in this fashion for many hours with incredible tenacity. Ancient-smelling wood that emanates a fine purple smoke which only gets less noticeable as time goes by. The oil focuses on simulating the experience of heating the wood and breathing the smoke instead of giving you the slabs of oleoresin goodness the way other oils mentioned do.
As far as the aesthetic goes, I will confess that my preference lies with the likes of Sultani, Kannan, Berkilau, and Co. That Malay DNA makes me lose my mind and gets my neurons firing like no other substance on Earth, that is legal, at least. Purple Kinam takes a departure from that aesthetic. However, I fully appreciate this oil and marvel at it for what it is. I think it is a superior oil, from a craftsmanship perspective, of which the distiller must be very proud. I find greater pleasure in watching the works of Caravaggio and Rembrandt, but I see a more complete artist in Picasso.
IG:@memory.of.scents
This is Oud Sultani, Kannan Koh, and Berkilau transmuted by the Oriscent treatment. Saying I love those oils is an understatement, as they rank in my top 5 oud oils. Add a few others like Ahmad, Emperor of Kedah V1, Grand Emperor of Kedah, Purple Malay, and Oud Mahmoud. I simply love that deep, sweet, resinous, and floral Malaysian DNA that is so difficult to come by. What if you take that DNA and craft it Oriscent style? You get the likes of Purple Kinam and then Kelantan. In this case, with Purple Kinam, you crank up the piercing qualities of the oil and the woody facets. The resinous quality is not the main focus anymore, while the vivid floracy and the purple color become more abstract. The way White Kinam takes the Malinau DNA and presents it through the Oriscent lens. Everything becomes elevated, less contoured, more abstract, piercing, and woody.
The opening of this oil is piercing, unlike many Oriscents, which feel rather vaporous. It shoots through your brain and has a powerful narcotic quality. It feels sharp and metallic. You can almost taste the oil at this stage. To that piercing-metallic quality, there is this psychedelic purple-pink color that comes across as hazy florals and fruits, alongside a peculiar zestiness. I like to think of extraterrestrial flowers, grapes, and plums, having a party in a spaceship while high on LSD. This is the opening of Purple Kinam for me. "Narcotic" is the best word to describe it.
After the initial blast, it calms down significantly. It settles and shapes into something more recognizable as an Oriscent oud oil. The woody quality takes center stage. This is where I feel it deters from the likes of Sultani. Whereas the latter becomes more vividly floral and noticeably sweet and resinous, Purple Kinam becomes increasingly woody. A deep, ancient-smelling wood aroma that I find with other high-caliber Oriscents like Royal Kinam 1, White Kinam, and Kyara de Kalbar. Here, that woody facet has a Bornean flair, sharing some of that Indonesian DNA. The floracy and the purple hue remain, but in the background and less overt. It fades away in this cloud of smoke. An abstract purple floral quality that feels diffusive rather than tangible. That sweet, resinous facet is faded here. There is very little sweetness to this oil, as well as very little of that oleoresinous DNA. The focus here is on the woody nuances. It continues in this fashion for many hours with incredible tenacity. Ancient-smelling wood that emanates a fine purple smoke which only gets less noticeable as time goes by. The oil focuses on simulating the experience of heating the wood and breathing the smoke instead of giving you the slabs of oleoresin goodness the way other oils mentioned do.
As far as the aesthetic goes, I will confess that my preference lies with the likes of Sultani, Kannan, Berkilau, and Co. That Malay DNA makes me lose my mind and gets my neurons firing like no other substance on Earth, that is legal, at least. Purple Kinam takes a departure from that aesthetic. However, I fully appreciate this oil and marvel at it for what it is. I think it is a superior oil, from a craftsmanship perspective, of which the distiller must be very proud. I find greater pleasure in watching the works of Caravaggio and Rembrandt, but I see a more complete artist in Picasso.
IG:@memory.of.scents
1 Comment
Schoeibksr 12 months ago
1
True oud-connoisseur 👍🏼