HOT ! Nungkhal 1 - 2023 : Pure Manipuri 170+ Year Old Single Tree Oud Oil - Hindi Dehn al Oudh - Rising Phoenix Perfumery - Nungkhal Series 1 of 4

Jungle : Nungkhal Forest Preserve, Manipur - IndiaClass : Wild Agallocha - 170+ Year Old TreeDistillation : Traditional Wood-fired Copper Deg and Bapkha, 7 Day Minimal FermentationDistillation Date : July 2023 - First 12 hours collectedDistillation Type : Traditional, Barnyard - Leather, Hay, & Fruits - Dark Berries and Black Cherries**This is a super cool Series of Oils - totaling 4 Nungkhal oils, all distilled from the same tree, in the same equipment - but under 4 different conditions.THE BACKSTORYBack in June and July of 2022, I was working with the local forestry department in the Nungkhal Forest Preserve. I was approached to purchase a tree estimated to be around 165 years old (we counted over 170 rings when we took it down - so it\'s at least 170 Years Old - possibly older). It was an old tree and very obviously heavily infected, which is what prompted the forestry department to reach out to us.The funds from our purchase were used to update one of the forestry outposts there in the preserve, and to construct a new outpost. So we helped do a lot of good in purchasing this tree with their help.It was quite a large tree, fully wild, and I was given a guarantee that it would contain \"at least X kg\'s of premium wood\". Needless to say ... it did.I took and set aside roughly 14kg of premium and sinking wood from the tree, and decided the rest of the incense woods and shavings would be used to produce oil. 4 of them, to be exact.This is way out in the countryside, and there\'s no real way to get the wood out to distill elsewhere in any large quantity - so I rented a well-kept local setup to put to work. Over $9,000 of firewood was purchased and used to distill these 4 oils, on top of the cost of the tree, plus the cost of cutting out and cleaning all the wood - which took more than 2 MONTHS just to carve it all out. This was not an inexpensive undertaking. Tens of thousands I put in to this experiment, and that\'s money all spent up front. I was terrified, to say the least. hahaIt was July of 2023 before I had the funds to start the distillation (had to buy all that firewood!) - so the woods were good and mature and dry. Perfect for the project.**In each of the 4 oils, I tried to evenly distribute shavings and the various grades of incense woods. The differences between the oils lay in the soak / fermentation lengths, and the length of time I distilled the oils, along with some other tweaks during distillation.THE SCENTInterestingly - this is the least soaked / fermented batch we made, but came out the \"strongest\" smelling of the 4 oils. The most \"punchy\", if you will. That\'s not something to be afraid of, btw.If you have tried any of my Ateek Series of very old Oud oils - you\'ll recognize that characteristic strength, and even though this is a new oil from 2023 - you\'d easily think this was one of the oils from the Ateek Series. It smells OLD ... likely due to the sheer age of the material used.Although Nungkhal 1 is potently animalic - it smells very clean and smooth - like a creamy and smooth blue cheese...loaded with Umami. Even the feedback I\'ve gotten from non-funk lovers have told me that the oil is weirdly addictive. Sticking in your nose, haunting you with warmth for hours.That punchy opening lasts all of maybe 10 minutes before it begins transitioning into pleasant Florals and Dark Berries - even something I’d call a Black Cherry - all the things lovers of Clean Hindi oils love about Hindis.This is a potent oil - despite being the shortest soak, and only the first 12 hours of distillation was collected. Weirdly addictive, and hits all the sweet spots that Hindi lovers usually look for.Hindi lovers - this one\'s for you - Barn and Leather and Florals and Berries Galore!This was a passion project and a HUGE risk I took - from harvest to distillation. Many more like it I\'ve already undertaken ... but that\'s a story for another time.If you\'re interested in some woods from this tree, please do reach out. It\'s excellent stuff.