You’re reading this because 1.) you love oud wood, or 2.) you soon will… and then you’ll re-read this to find out if these oud chips are worth the buy.
If you already bliss out to oud smoke, then read on to find out more about this rare island oud. If this is your maiden voyage into the world of agarwood, save yourself tons of headache trying to find the best gateway to quality oud wood, and simply order a packet of these sinking-grade chips now. You can re-read this again while a Bulldog chip bubbles up next to you, while you can rest assured the fragrance wafting around you is the same caliber all veteran oud lovers are after.
Abuyog Bulldog is perfect for oud novices because the scent is just so beautiful. If you only ever indulge in oud wood once, this’ll frame the experience in high-def.
But, if you’ve already graduated and heat oud chips because it’s a way of life for you, then you just gotta let the bulldog in. Don’t buy another kind of oud until you have Abuyog to light it up next to.
Oud wood can be tricky. With a line-up of different chips from different regions, it’s often hard to tell them apart by looks or by smell. “Is this Cambodi or Vietnamese? Or no, wait, there’s a Borneo sweetness to it…”
Every oudhead has faced this challenge.
Every oudhead also eventually becomes trained in the art of telling different grades apart, visually and olfactoriaely—the ability to tell malaccenssis from crassna, spot soil agarwood on a tray with live harvests; Cambodi vs. Papuan or Maroke’s gyrinops next to walla.
With these chips, all you need is to uncap the jar or bag the chips are in. The ambient aroma tells you everything.
It’s not kinamic in its bitterness but overlaps in its cooling properties, and in how distinct the scent is. Just sniffing the chips raw tells you it’s Abuyog.
Every high-grade batch from the jungles of Abuyog share this cooling blue fragrance like Thai oud oils share notes of fruit. Instantly recognizable, and so so satisfying. The higher the grade, the cooler the blue.
If I had to compare it, the closest scent to Abuyog’s beautiful blue is Bruneian chips. But even before a chip touches the heater, you can tell it’s bluer than any Brunei you’ll smell.
Filipino agarwood doesn’t smell alike at all. Many investors have lost big money on massive, ink-black bicep chunks only to heat a piece and…… nothing. It became a huge issue for buyers and sellers…
Until they struck diamonds, and Abuyog became the Pusong of the Philippines; its Nha Trang and Koh Kong.
While hunting for Filipino oud was (still is) a serious hit-and-miss mission, everyone quickly realized that not only does Abuyog’s fragrance overflow with flavor, but its flavor is amazingly distinct. Tawi or other Mindanao batches might as well be from another country altogether compared to this unusual sting of pepper admixed with petrichor whirling in a cloud of sweet blue island incense.
Whether you’re on a quest to find your next baggie of oud chips, or if this’ll be your first foray into this oudilicious wonderworld—you can’t go wrong with a bite of Abuyog Bulldog.
Here’s what other people are saying about Abuyog Bulldog…
Abuyog Bulldog is like a sibling of Pinoy Privée.
If anything, I find it possesses more of a resin note,
while Pinoy Privée has a fresher top. Both of course,
have an aromatic profile that sits within the bracket of well known and established regions such as Vietnamese, Cambodi, and Hindi; while sharing similarities with of other regions such as Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua. I also agree that it is very beginner friendly, and it will also catch the attention of a Kodo Master. – Curtis, USA
One of the finest woods I ever met. A cherry/kinam/pepper & musk-vanilla spacedriver (like a screwdriver, but 2 additional dimensions: time & scent). Too precious to burn, I chew it! -)) – Erhard, Austria
Lovely Filipino wood! Filipino agarwood to me is very distinct, there’s this herbal quality to it that I haven’t smelled in woods from other regions.. Some batches of Filipino woods start out great, with a rush of herbal qualities, but then later in the heating session sort of go sour.. This wood opens with its own spin on that herbal quality, but as the heating session progresses it softens into a beautiful, evolving bouquet of notes.. Warm and comforting and spicy.. – Josh, USA