Taiwanese oud oil has become something of a legend within the oud community, after all, some of the greatest oils known hail from here.
The path to sourcing great fragrance is not easy, let alone some of the finest essential oils known. Pair this arduous ambition with the requirement it must be distilled in Taiwan, and now you have yourself an almost impossible task.
Now we've purveyed some pretty fine Taiwan oud in our time, wood that is unrivalled for value and flocked to by even the most prestigious of collectors.
Yet as for Taiwanese oil, this has been a closely guarded secret, it is no surprise to anyone familiar with luxury goods that money alone isn't sufficient in order to acquire the finest and most desirable items. The most hyped and long awaited releases are always exclusive and reserved for the brand's most precious clientele, with waitlists of several years for certain items.
These oils are even rarer, but unlike high-value luxury goods there is almost no hype for these oils - yet they are near impossible to acquire. Instead, they quietly slip under the radar, think about it, how can oils which no-one knows about gain any hype?
If they were to become hyped and desirable items all round, this would be to the detriment of the prominent collectors that strive for them, people for whom the price and the potential rise in value in means nothing. They have nothing to gain simply from the oils becoming hype items and rising tremendously in value as a result; these collectors would only lose out on access to their most special oud oils.
The best oud oils change hands in exclusive circles, not for monetary gain, but rather the passion for artisanal oud. It is then no surprise that the best oils stay almost impossible to acquire, particularly those arising from a region most wouldn't even consider when they think about oud.
The gems which Taiwan has to offer are unparalleled - truly. The signature kinamic profile of these oils are not found in any other region, no distiller we know of has replicated this profile outside of Taiwan. Combine this with the age and quality of distillation material they have access to, and you now have something pretty special in the works.
Many of the oils we acquire are aged for over 10 years, distilled with the material of yesteryear, by legends of this tradition and then left to carefully age like fine wine - before settling on our skin and embracing us with their transcendent and mesmerising scent profiles.
Without doubt our Taiwanese oils are some of the best oud oils we've ever smelt, particularly our Fragrant Harbour, a beautiful and medicinal kinam like oil embedded with sweetness. This oil was distilled from Hong Kong and Hainanese wood, the corner stones of Chinese oud tradition. To to own any Taiwanese oud is indeed a special honour, it signifies a friendship and bond with the great collectors of these oils and their kind favour of sharing their gems of oud history with us.
These oils represent something more than fragrance and trade. They represent the cultural authenticity Taiwan is known for, they represent the finest and most meticulous craftsmanship and they are in our opinion the perfect embodiment of this precious and beloved fragrance known to us as oud.
