In a blind test, I’m sure even the most seasoned oudheads would have trouble telling which is which: Oud Extraordinaire or the mighty Oud Ishaq. There’s an echo of Kyara Ko-Twe that just shouldn’t be here (but is). A slow, measured consistency in the way the scent unfolds that boggles veteran distillers. How the—? How did you—? A fat layer of sweet molasses, gentle wafts of tobacco, and a signature fruity tone that twirls in between that you’d expect to smell only in the wildest grandma crassnas.
It’s been eleven years since Oud Dhul Kifl, almost ten since Encens d’Angkor, and the future of Oud Yusuf is no more. But this… this is crème de la crème.
The oil itself is honey-thick, which boosts longevity because it lets the scent linger on the skin longer than less viscous ouds. It also intensifies the woody base, and sharpens the strong incense heart notes already imbued with a darker shade of peach-plum that gushes into a contrast of cherry tobacco and a playful citrus-infused sencha. A soft chord of rose petals underneath… it all lets you in on the caliber oud you’re smelling.
Oud Extraordinaire is a one-in-a-thousand bottle of oud. It’s what all oud wants to be—organic and wild—but doesn’t put in the time to become. The maturity of the fruitiness, the depth of the woody-incense backdrop, all of it hinges on the kind of resin you work with.
The trees distilled to make Oud Extraordinaire have been maturing far longer than most cultivation practices would allow them to. With every passing year, they didn’t get harvested, growing to be around 40 years old (the norm is that cultivated agarwood trees are harvested at 5-15 years old).
As each new inoculant hit the market, they stayed chemical-free. Year after year we see an increase in pre-mature harvesting and an increase in chemical inoculation, and overall a dramatic decline in agarwood cultivation in Thailand. The Bangkok market is flooded with cheap ouds (with quality to match) and former agarwood farmers are harvesting their new durian, or pressing palm oil instead of growing new aquilarias.
The privilege to produce oud of this rank, at this time, is a blessing.
The opportunity to use oud of this rank, at this time, in perfumery—unprecedented.
Oud Extraordinaire hails from Rayong, which explains why the aroma departs from the more popular and playful Trat profiles and shows a closer family resemblance to the stern demeanor of Oud Ishaq and Oud Dhul Kifl (both from Chanthaburi). Even the oldest Rayong trees reach only about 20 years of age and were likely inoculated barely two years prior to harvest.
Our unique distillation style that produces thicker ouds without ‘sunning-them for six months straight, combined with Rayong’s unique terroir, and the fact that the trees grew three to four times (decades!) longer than the norm, and that we distilled kyen exclusively, means that you not only get the highest class organic oud oil around, but a smell that packs a unique umami-rich punch.
I’m releasing Oud Extraordinaire to back up the claims I make about the quality ingredients I use and for you to smell first-hand the class of components that go into EO parfums. The crisp woody undertones, the thick viscosity, the binding power, the maturity of the resin and the trees themselves, everything about this oud makes it an ingredient to die for. As for wearing it neat, it’s difficult to imagine how Oud can get any better. It stands right next to Satori Kensho and even the legendary Oud Yaqoub.
Featured Testimonials…
Oud Extraordinaire, a rare and luxurious oud oil, (especially 2018 & then 2019 distillation) offers a complex blend of sweet molasses, tobacco, and fruity undertones, with a honey-thick consistency enhancing its longevity and depth. Distilled from 40-year-old agarwood trees in Rayong, Thailand, it exudes unmatched maturity and richness, making it a standout in the world of oud. This exceptional oil epitomizes luxury and quality, rivaling renowned counterparts like Satori and Oud Yaqoub, and is a must-have for discerning fragrance enthusiasts.
Today I took a swipe of the oud extraordinaire. It was actually my first Oud oil ever and everytime I use it, it seems to be better than the last time. This one’s a really sweet, fruity and somehow mysterious oil. The profile of this oil is super complex and I really can’t describe it in details. From all the ouds that I’ve tried so far there’s not even one that comes with a smell like this one. If there’s something that has deserved to be called extraordinaire than it’s this oil.
One swipe each of these Tigerwoods on a Friday , and I am surrounded in a cloud of vintage royale tigerwood scent.
The sticky goodness of Oud Extraordinaire misleads one to expect a languid opening of notes revealed one by one, but no. It takes a minute for the oil to adhere to/melt into the skin and begin its song, but once it does it is big!
Honey-rich visual connotations keep a bittersweet propolis note buzzing in my mind—resins and pollen collected from apple blossoms—coupled with a sharp flush of corn mint. Some lush acidity comes in strong with the minty effect, like the tang of peach skin before the sweet juices round out the flavor.
Earthy rooibos tea and fruity, lactonic tobacco carry this experience for hours afterward along with the physical, camphorous aura. Remarkably persistent, the woody base and an almost powder-dry honey notes of this oil last and last but it never loses the delicate feeling of an apple blossom.
It certainly doesn’t beat Oud Yusuf in charisma. But it has a sort of wildness that I didn’t expect from organic oud. It then harmonizes with the sweet tone that is quite unique and my kind of fragrance. It then further develops in the skin to give an additional level of complex yet consistent earthly depth. I am quite amazed and very thankful to Ensar Oud to have this bottle of pure tranquility, wildness and joy as I dream of. – Mydul, Spain
I only ordered this as I was wondering what the hype was all about surrounding Oud. Now I know. It certainly is very meditative. I find it improved my breathing and opens certain channels internally. My wife and I are somehow addicted. For me, I love the frankincense notes in there. The experience continues…. – Sharjeel, UK
The first time I applied this oil I didn’t find it so interesting compared to the others. After some nine hours I smelled it and it seemed like a totally different oil. I had to check again if it was the same. It started as sweet and a little leathery but after all those hours I found it totally incense, smoky, woody. So, I had to swipe it again and try to figure it out. It starts sweet with a leathery bit at the beginning, and after an our becomes very honey-like, and then morphs into that smoky woody smell. I find this oil the one which changes the most through the day. It’s a real olfactory chameleon. – Andre, Portugal
Si oud Yusuf era un oud incontestablemente sociable, apto para los usos de Occidente, Oud Extraordinaire gustará también en todas las Culturas. Las selvas y manglares están muy lejos. Oud Extraordinaiere acaso sea el único Oud gourmand. O al menos el único oud gourmand que yo conozco. Pero nada dulzón ni blando hay en él. Su dulzura es la cálida miel de las especias. Hay un punto vibrante de canela, de pétalos de flores y frutas escarchadas. Con Oud Extraordinaire viajo a una noche misteriosa, junto a un fuego donde me esperan las tartas y pasteles de las Mil y Una Noches. – Juan, Spain
Oud Extraordinaire, seem to be coming from another universe from the ouds I already have. The honey like texture and fragrance, the overwhelmingly sweet first hit, the timeline going through Honey, fruit, then deep wood is simply well… extraordinary. My question is why is this oud so different? Is there a different method of extraction? Do you add honey to the mix? How do you get that insane sweet sticky product? – Luc, USA
Oud Yaqoub and Oud Extraordinaire are definitely the most beautiful I have smelled so far and it is really difficult to pick a favorite between these two. Oud Extraordinaire has a very gentle, sweet and fruity scent which has a very calming effect on me. I would sometimes apply a small amount before I go to sleep and when I wake up the next morning, I could still smell it on my wrist. […] I never knew that oud oils can have such different scents from each other and it amazes me how different they all are. Once in a while I swipe a small amount of each oil on different parts of my hands so that I can enjoy their scents all at once and it allows me to appreciate the oils and their unique scents better. – Mohd, Singapore
Wow, yes it is extraordinaire. Spicey, rich, oozey, tingly, calming, mind boggling and cozy like winter scent. I fell in love. It is truly a dense piece of olfactory art. That and Yaqoub, brought stillness to my mind as I explored the scent.
I chose to wear it. I SWIPED. And a little goes a long way. I am impressed by its projections yet softness. I wore it out to pay a bill in a cell phone shop. Hahaha and the lady who greeted me, could only step a certain distance near me. As you could tell she was hit with it in shock, yet not in disgust she stood there observing. I swear I could see her nose wiggle as she was trying to curiously figure out what she was smelling and feeling.
And let’s just say, she was really nice to me, lol. – Eric, USA
As I sit on my bed contemplating the journey that I’ve embarked on in life, I wonder how did I lose touch with all of my senses? Only recently have I come to the dramatic reality that so much of my time has been spent seeing, tasting, hearing, and feeling. What happened to my olfactory? If I went to the beach, I would see the waves rolling in. I would feel the warm sand between my toes, and taste the salt in the water. If I went to the forest, I would hear the animals hidden in the thick of it away from view, I would see the shadows as they move with the sun rising from one side of the other, in both places very happy with the experience.
Only recently, after being exposed, just exposed to the amazing scent of pure artisanal oud, did my nose really come alive. I went on a limb and purchased Oud Extraordinaire despite its price from the master craftsman and team Ensar Oud and now, as I sit on my bed after swiping just a small dot, insignificant in size I can’t help but be reminded of some amazing places I’ve been. Just one pure Oud, so precious and rare, has taken me to a place I can’t explain. The smells coming in and out, smoky and spicy, fresh and delicious, so sweet and yet so commanding.
I feel like I stumbled into olfactory wonderland, only this time my goal is never to get out. Many things in life start us on new journeys, and this time Extraordinaire has started me on something new, fresh, and absolutely amazing. Thanks to Adam, Thomas, Ensar, and their great team of distillers from all over the world. Thanks for selling me a key, a key that unlocked a whole new level of sensation. A key to a door I always want to leave open now, a door with many locks. – Chris S, USA
It’s an oud which an Arab would pay so much more for… Arabs love the viscosity to be high… the longetivity to be more… the smell to be sweet… it’s an Oud I love wearing without actually looking for development of it or searching for top, middle and dry downs… or searching for nuances, etc… it’s the type of Oud which actually made me fall in love with Oud in the first place. – Dan, India
First thing I did was open the bottle of Extraordinaire. It’s so late at night I haven’t swiped it yet but just the smell of the oil is amazing. It’s level is above everything else I have. It’s like comparing a house to a huge building. My old stuff is the house, the Extraordinaire is a palace 😁😁😁 – Chris, USA
Oud Extraordinaire is really unique! I took it with me when I traveled, and found that my appreciation for it increased the more I wore it. It has an amazing array of top notes- sometimes very floral, other times notes that I do not yet have the vocabulary to describe. It is truly deserving of the name. – Michael, USA
In the drydown is one of my favorite notes. In Indonesia and Malaysia, they have ‘gula melaka’ which is unprocessed organic coconut palm sugar that is caked. When heated, just before boiling point it releases a note of syrupy caramel that’s not sweet but slightly charred. The aroma lasts for a few seconds. Oud Extraordinaire captures this! – Mostafa, USA
Oud Extraordinaire is on another level and is head and shoulders above anything that I can pick up in the shops of Dubai. – Justin, UAE
I must say, your new organic offerings are just beautiful. Oud Extraordinaire is the perfect fall and winter oud. It has this wonderful, decedent thick jammy, sappy texture, and a sweet cooling vibe. It reminds me of palo santo. It has great fruity elements. I love it. It feels so… festive and comforting. – Aeona, USA
It’s hard to divorce the thickness of OE from any of my descriptors. I naturally lean to honeycomb, dried fruit (apricot but not too sweet a la candied fruit), and caramel. The woods are not as prevalent in this one, at least for me. – Josh, USA
I love all of the Oud oils. I think Oud Extraordinaire is my favorite so far. – Brian, USA
The Extraordinaire. I have only one word that stood out enormously: “homemade apple jam on crumble pie with rhubarb and cinnamon oat porridge.” AMAZINGLY likeable and tasty delicious. Yum Yum.. Definitely a winner.. I had only a small swipe from the gift you so kindly sent. But an absolute treat.. – Sigmund, Norway
Friday night relaxing treats… Finally putting my feet up after a week of, as it seems, 5072 days… Haven’t burned incense in years. Haven’t smelled oud this beautiful – ever! You couldn’t find a more befitting name if you tried! Truly extraordinary it is. Ensar Oud you did the magic once again!! What better way to finish off Oudvember! When I messaged habibi Ensar and confessed my love for Borneo Zen (which, I know now is an attar and not an oud) he very knowledgeably recommended I try Oud Extraordinaire.
WOW!! Truly one in a thousand oud – you get the most ethereal medicinal cloud in the very opening which then shifts and changes exposing the sweet, almost candied, fruity heart that is a known characteristic to the highest quality Thais. It’s so delectable I catch myself licking my lips each time I smell my arm (that is roughly every two minutes). Smitten would be a mere understatement to even try and describe how much I’ve fallen for it! Oud Extraordinaire, ana ba7ebak aktar men ay 7aga <3 <3 <3 – Neringa, Ireland
The first oud that I ever purchased from EO was oud Dhul Kifl, and I’m just about out of it. Oud Extraordinaire has the notes and consistency of Dhul Kifl but has this spicy, dry, rich black honey scent that I can’t wait to lose myself in. – Matt, USA
Amazing. Doesn’t smell like anything I’ve tried before. Doesn’t seem to project a lot, but up close just amazing. All sorts of things going on. It’s almost as if I swiped honey on the back of my hand. – Andy, USA
A young, playful oil. The initial hit has tons of sweet notes – as if you inhale deeply over a bag of roasted sugar-coated almonds. There is a note of beeswax that I particularly like. Floral notes, like cherry blossom, also swirl around in the sweet scent. In the beginning, the oil reminded me of Dom Kwan since I get similar wildflowers and honey notes. Soon there’s a switch to more resinous notes. About twenty minutes in, a slightly woody suede leather note sweeps into the sweet floral notes… from here on, the oil becomes gradually more resinous, incense-y, deeper. I get a fresh pine resin note that seems to boost and deepen the sweeter notes. Sillage and projection are quite good… a tiny drop on my wrist and I can smell the scent even when my arm is not lifted to my nose. This oil is thick so a tiny amount will perfume you for quite some time. – Thomas, Germany
I cant believe the smell of the Oud Extraordinaire, I am so impressed with the quality of everything I have received as I have sampled other offerings and have not found the same quality. – Edward, USA