Shamaal

The journeys of the North – Shamaal.

It is not unusual to come across Oudh Oils projecting the varying tones of fruit; plum jams, hints of citrus and the odd bunch of berries, but imagine an artisanal Oil capturing not just the notes of fruits but the captivating essence of the beautiful highlands of Northern Malaysia – The crisp cool air of the mountain, the sparkling streams, the century old trees, the native flower pulps, and the fresh scent of mountain breeze – this my dears is Shamaal, Arabic for North.

Distilled on site in 2021, in the North of the Malaysian Mainland, Shamaal is a fragrance of intrigue, a scent that tickles the palate. Shamaal traditionally is used to refer to the north, we named this Oil such, as the jungles this oudh comes from are some of the most northern jungles in Malaysia the fragrance incomparable to its surroundings. Shamaal is a clear example of the varying effect of climate, soil and weather in producing differing Oils.

When distilling Shamaal, our vision was to capture both the depth of the scent that originates from the oils residing close to the resin formations in the wood, but also to caress some of those heady notes, combined not an easy task. Shamaal reveals not only the deep wood scent but the facets of fresher green notes, the greenness being not flowery but richer more denser velvety and cooling, filled with the lushness of dense forests. The wood used had a deep and rich resin with lots of transition oil sitting between the resin and oil.

Noticeably more  velvety than the standard oudh oil, Shamaal has been cured then aged for over 12 months – it is now on its 2nd year, giving this oil character and depth in complexity – a wondrous journey to have on the wrist or to wear around, a very engaging oil.

Merging together the world of scents associated with deep dark resins and their counterparts of bright crisp green notes, Shamaal is incredibly intricate and detailed. A balmy woody scent with a brush of camphor top note, like a soft breeze caressing the scent of bubbling Malaysian prime chips. The middle is a cool green resinous note with plenty of horizontal complexity. Imagine the coolness of mint without the mintiness, herbal, the brightness of musk and Japanese cherry blossoms. The dry down is deep wood resin, oudh, rhubarb leaves and cinnamon with oriental spices, not hot but cool.

As one of our of our friends mentioned “this is the pinnacle of Malaysian experience”.

From the journeys of the North – Shamaal, join the caravan.