Yunnan Emperor

Yunnan Emperor

There are Ouds that define a region, and there are Ouds that transcend it.
Yunnan Emperor is the latter.

If Yunnan was a tribute to a land its rivers, forests, wars, and spirit then Yunnan Emperor is the throne upon which that legacy now rests. This is not a repetition, nor an extension by name alone. It is the distillation of authority, patience, and dominion over time itself.

Years after the final drops of Yunnan were sealed away in the Al Shareef vaults, a singular reserve remained untouched. Not because it was forgotten, but because it was waiting for greatness. Some Ouds demand silence, darkness, and decades before they reveal their true rank. Yunnan Emperor was one of them.

This Oud originates from the same vanished terroir of Yunnan wood no longer accessible, no longer harvestable, and certainly no longer exportable. What elevates Yunnan Emperor is not merely age, but selection within selection: wood taken from the most resin-saturated cores, distilled slowly, then left to rule undisturbed while lesser oils were released to the world.

Where Yunnan spoke of wild hills and contested kingdoms, Yunnan Emperor speaks of unification. The chaos has settled. The smoke has lifted. What remains is command.

The Distillation

As with its predecessor, there could be no compromise in method. The Oud was cooked exclusively in traditional round-belly stainless steel vessels over open wood fire no glass, no shortcuts, no continuous burning. Each charge was steamed once, rested, inspected, and only returned to the fire if the wood itself consented. This is not production; this is custodianship.

The oil was then sealed and aged in silence, allowing the sharper animalic edges to bow before depth, polish, and authority.

The Scent

The opening is immediate and unmistakable:
heated oud resin dense as lacquered wood, paired with an imperial musk no longer wild, but trained, regal, and composed.

As it unfolds, Yunnan Emperor reveals layers of dark dried fruits black figs and cherries wrapped in antique amber and softened by a breath of aged myrrh. There is incense, but it is ceremonial; there is animal warmth, but it is restrained, intentional, and commanding.

At its core lies something profoundly rare:
the scent of power that does not need to announce itself.

The dry-down is long, resonant, and unforgettable polished oud, mineral earth, faint tobacco leaf, and a lingering warmth that clings to skin like memory to history.

The Legacy

Yunnan Emperor is not offered as an indulgence, nor as a curiosity. It is offered as a reference for perfection, a point for those who wish to understand what true Chinese-origin Oud can become when time, tradition, and skill are allowed to rule.

There will be no second release.
There will be no reformulation.
And when it is gone, the chapter of Yunnan will close not with scarcity, but with finality.

This is not merely Oud.
This is Yunnan Emperor.