Jannah

Papua, Indonesia’s easternmost province borders the nation of Papua New Guinea and encompasses the western half of New Guinea and several other islands. An area of cultural and biological diversity, its rainforests and mountains are some of the tallest in Indonesia and boast such enchanting diversity in forestry, mountains and ocean that some call it ‘Paradise on earth’.

It always perplexed me to find when a new Papuan or Merauke oil was released (sub region within Papua) it usually smelled like soaked cardboard – How it was possible for a region of such famed beauty to yield foul-smelling Oudh with such a stark contrast? At the same time, we also had clients who having been exposed to the exotic varieties of internet oudh asking us, “do you have a Papuan or Merauke oil?” to which the answer was always the same – “no sorry”.

We continued saying ‘no sorry’ as the Papuan woods we were coming across were not ones we would be happy to distil; dead Wood wallowing at the bottom of swamps losing the inherent character of Oudh and picking up swampy characteristics, in short not an Oudh we would like to present to our clients.

But then it all changed. We didn’t find oudh itself but we found a lone oudh lover living in that very region. An enthusiast with oudh from old trees before they fell and got buried in swamps or under forest decay. For anyone who has been searching and seeking true Papuan oudh knows that such a find is rarer than hens’ teeth so what do you do with such a rare find other than to treat it with the most amount of respect? There is no respect like cooking oudh in small batches in the lab under artisan care ensuring that every bit of Oudh is juiced out of that wood to leave pulp that you could make paper from.

Jannah, in Arabic means garden and it is also the very term used for Paradise. Take a whiff and experience Jannah open every vessel, vein and blood path in your brain as it removes the fogginess, spider webs and rust from your senses and makes you alert and awake – it demands your attention – Jannah is bright and glowing, but old and graceful, powerful and brave yet polite and modest.

Opening with a cedar camphoric opening that is beautifully bright and gracefully wrapping its arms around you ensuring you know you are in good hands. Oudh dust resting on sea salt, aged wood chest, matured cigars and dark medicine with the slightest hint of ethanol to make it light and pleasing. A touch of passion flower, vanilla, clove, Ceylon cinnamon, sweet aged musk, then the kick we all wait for – woody woody oudh.

Jannah is Papuan, a real Papuan oudh oil, not just the name, but a reflection of the beauty of the Papua region; the tall mountains, the many Islands, the beautiful coral and seas, and the most unique wild live anywhere on earth. As Dian Gafar says “It would take me 200 years to explore all of Papua maybe 300 years”, explore Jannah the Oudh Heaven from Papua.