Purple Kinam

We teamed up with the agarwood tycoons of Singapore and China and took the costliest Malaysian agarwood money could buy and prepared a cargo of the most fragrant wood to be gathered in Malaysia…

Rather than doing a run-of-the-mill Malaysian oil where smoke meets monsoon mud meets leather meets chocolate syrup, we discussed in detail how the distillation project would pan out in Taiwan at the hands of my teacher, the kyara mastermind, and shipped our precious gaharu to him.

From inhaling kinam smoke to eating kinam dust to drinking kinam tea to carving beads out of long-extinct Vietnamese kyara, the man’s life revolves around the fabled wood.

He could take aquilaria crassna and craft an oil you’d swear was squeezed from prime green oil kyara. What he did with our Malaysian malaccensis is even more amazing. We’d never thought we’d ever smell the note of purple kinam in an oud oil before… until we smelled this.

Zero mud smell – that earthy, monsoon mud funk which is why I hadn’t touched Malaysian oud since 2006. Zero leather laced with notes of coffee and cocoa which are the hallmark of present-day Malaysian brewings. Zero ‘chocolate’ notes. Zero caramel. Zero honey. – Did I say zero leather?

Instead, what you have in Purple Kinam is the pinnacle of the Oud scent: liquid purple kinam. The glory of ouds gone by, in a stunning new profile. A resinous kinamiferous purple-flowered gush of heart-wrenching, brain-numbing vaporous crystalline edible indescribableness… The heart of every kyara legend to come out of Taiwan, transmuted to the irreplaceable floral heights of Oud Sultani, then filtered through the smoke of pure purple kinam.

We spent the better part of a Birmingham OudFest appointment heating up some sickly resinated purple kinam from Yamada Matsu on a battery-powered kyara heater. After the session, we sampled Purple Kinam…….

My guest, who’d expressed skepticism at my choice of ‘Purple Kinam’ as the name for this oil, nodded his head in speechless exhilaration. ‘I would have to agree,’  he said. ‘The choice of Purple Kinam as the name for this oil is justified.’

CUSTOMER REVIEWS

I was on the phone with a dear friend as I opened it for the first time… I took a lil smell and instantly started sighing with delight. And, then I took another smell… Mmmmmmmm I couldn’t stop… It was enchanting. Delighting. Blissful. Transporting. Orgasmic… So much so, that my friend asked me if I was having an orgasm… I said, ‘Pretty much!!’ This lil magical liquid takes you to that place that our souls know, but yet our human minds don’t remember much of the time! It’s a journey in a breath! And all the complexities and simplicities in there… It is so well balanced in its dichotomy! OMG!!!! It’s a pure sensual orgasm!!! How else can one describe it?! Not the kind of orgasm that leaves you tired, but the cell-shaking ones that leave you energized and yet so relaxed!
—Cristina / USA

I’ve tried countless fragrances with fewer layers and less complexity than this oil made from just one type of wood. Granted, it’s the top-of-the-line and very expensive Kyara/Kinam varietal of agarwood but, even so, what a remarkable fragrance. Purple Kinam creates two completely different but equally well-defined worlds. The first was an old, book-lined study, where I rested in a Churchillian-studded leather armchair…
—Kafkaesque / USA

And man, Purple Kinam… atop an active volcano is a special mix.

—Chris / New Zealand

You found the perfect word to express Purple Kinam – it’s truly a Galaxy!

I first tried a sample (thank you again for the opportunity). When I tried the sample, it was enough to fall in love with Purple Kinam. I thought I smelled purple concord grapes and plums crushed in ice crystals from frozen mountain tops… definitely purple color…

But now I know, there is a huge difference in trying a small sample and experiencing the same oud from a larger vial.

So, when I experienced Purple Kinam I received from you fully… it is really just one pure note of pristine acacia honey magnified a thousandfold. But the most amazing thing is not the smell, but frequency signature of this oud. The waves are short and very fast and it goes directly to the pineal gland and plays it like an instrument. The pineal has micro crystals that have piezoelectric properties. So as an interesting fact, how comes the purple color (actually more like violet color)? It is actually an effect of Purple Kinam acting on the pineal. Microcrystals squeeze and produce violet color. So it’s not imagination that produces the violet color, it’s actual color produced by the pineal gland. This violet color then floods the pituitary gland and activates far-vision (vision on a distance) and long-vision (vision in time).

So, yes, for me Purple Kinam is my Holy Grail for which I am very GRATEFULl!

P.S. About long-vision… I was wondering if Ensar remembers one of his life-times when he in fact was Leonardo Da Vinci.
—Elena / USA

PK is just simply a wow oil. When I first ventured into this wild world, I never thought I’d be investing in my nose this much. A year and a half later, here I am holding a true legend. Opportunities like this don’t present themselves often. I’m grateful to be amongst the few who will ever be graced by this gentle, gentle monster.
—Michael / Canada

The moment I took a whiff of Purple Kinam, I felt like I was soaring. It is literally an uplifting feeling. I can’t even describe the scent. Purple Kinam doesn’t share any of the ‘oudy’ characteristics that you usually pick up with most oils. I’ll need some time to really review it. The only thing I can say is that this is the most amazing thing I’ve had the pleasure of smelling in my life. Actually, it’s the perfect scent for me.
—Steve / USA

And once again my idea of what oud is completely changes. This had almost the same scent profile 12 hours later as when I first applied it – kinam must have different chemical properties compared to ‘normal’ Oud or my skin really reacts well to it.

Well, no getting around this, it really is purple. If orange smells orange than this firmly belongs in the same end of the spectrum as slightly dehydrated but freshly pressed purple grape juice sprinked with damask rose petals and hibiscus-manuka honey swirled in a huge red wine bulb and downed.

Watching Rome on my laptop, I now imagine the Emperor smelling not only of stridgeled olive oil, poor sanitation from his sandals, leather, horse and sweat but this too. It’s a truly royal aroma.

Purple Kinam majestically projects in all directions, like an EDT or EDP, and female appreciation of this is very, very high indeed. I had three compliments in the space of an hour from a very good hearted but rough around the edges teenage babysitter, mature student and a fortysomething mother of four. I found this rather surprising as there was absolutely no pheromonal type twang to this for me.

The quality of this certainly commands an appropriate price. I strongly advise anyone who is wealthy to put all of your ready cash and easily pawned items into fixed income instruments before you sample this or you might find yourself living off canned spaghetti, taking the bus and trying to steal your neighbours’ wifi because you will have spent every last penny on a kilo. Then again, it just might be worth it.
—Robert / USA

These high end oils of yours are without parallel, it appears to me. I believe that Purple Kinam is my favorite oil of all time. I rarely use it to conserve my precious amount, but each time I do I’m spellbound by its sublime complexity – these swirling contrasting notes which form a seamless whole.
—Josh / USA

My favourite has got to be Purple Kinam. It’s way out of my budget but when I put it on, it’s crazy how it makes me feel. The smell literally evokes all kinds of joyful emotions and I can’t help but lose myself trying to ‘listen’ to the notes. I usually apply the oud oils before bedtime and only Purple Kinam and Sultan Afnan make me delay sleeping so I can smell them more.
—Elvin / Singapore

That’s what makes this a very hard decision… It is almost as if it is not just the oil that matters but this choice will define my path in life… if that at all makes sense… It’s perplexing and not what I bargained for… It really shows the complexity, depth and soul of this oud… it truly is destiny-defining… What a creation!…
—Chris / Taiwan

Purple Kinam – okay, now HERE’S some strength and longevity! WOW. This is oud in high definition. Not much for way of subtlety here, and I love it. A top notch oud note turned up to 11. The legend of ‘kinam’ continues.
—Adam / USA

What a profoundly amazingly beautiful oud of purple Paradise! It engulfs my senses with translucent wafts of the highest grade agarwood that is truly a wonder, the pinnacle of an artist’s work that lay beyond the ability of most.
—Yusuf / USA

Purple Kinam is Magic in a bottle… Really captivating and evolving by time and weather… I tried it at home and tried it outside in warm weather… Each time it gives me something new to smell and guess about…
—Abdul Aziz / Kuwait

Purple Kinam is one of the most beautiful oud oils I have ever smelled. First of all, it does not have any off-putting notes. It starts off with a very nice kinam note which fills up the whole room. It has the power to penetrate deep into your brain and calm you down. After about 30 minutes, I get a smell of roses. It’s like you took rose petals and rubbed them on your hand. Very fresh and natural rose. I have never experienced such a note in oud oil before. The next stage smells like a woody bouquet of flowers. Very, very nice. On top of everything else, it also has somewhat of a Bornean character. It can be worn as a standalone pure oud perfume without any other ingredient. Highly recommend this one, this oil is a must-have in your collection.
—Inder / USA

A study in contrasts. An Oil that is of adventure and destiny. This powerful extraction is a forest in a bottle. Complex Cedar Moss mixed with the scent of Sky High boulders and towering trees. Purple surrounds you, slowly raising you aloft until you’re finally soaring above the canopy, free of worldly cares. This is a tangible experience so dynamic I can actually sense the physicality of the forest. Then after a while, comes bergamot tea time, tiny Pistachio nut encrusted cakes with Warm Raspberry sauce. Few oils I have found to be so contrast rich as Purple Kinam. Both nutty and sweet, spicy and warm.
—Robert / USA

Right from the unopened sample vial I smell a soft Kyara note – most promising – and reminiscent of the Kyara note in KLTD Centennial. On my skin Purple Kinam starts with a Kyara note which is soon laid out as a spectrum between floral notes, like that of wild flowers on a meadow, against a powdery camphor note. This might sound like a contradiction, as camphor is not powdery or soft but pungent and strong – but here the camphor is really soft.

Soon a note of something powdery, even smoky mixes in. It becomes stronger and it reveals itself as the scent of fresh sage leaves.

Further on, the notes differentiate and form a unified picture of soft florals, fresh mint leaves, and the tiniest speckle of lemon peel oil… or is it grapefruit? Definitely it is very subtle and coming from the citrus family.

A while later I get an image of a ballet stage full of dancers, each with a dress of different color. And as they whirl around, they take turns in coming to the front of the stage. The notes in Purple Kinam seem to dance with each other, and every now and then another one takes center stage.

The scent is really perfume – in that it develops nicely and has a broad spectrum of scent notes.

Trying to compare it with other oils I know, I’d say Purple Kinam could best be compared to KLTD Centennial in its sweetness, and to Encens Khmer which it shares the Borneo wood character with, soft and powdery.

Overall, Purple Kinam shares some similarities with earlier ‘Kyara’ or ‘Kinam’ oils. But as in the case of its predecessors, Purple Kinam is something altogether individual, unique. That makes Purple Kinam a nice addition to the collection of those who wish to own some beautiful kyara oils.
—Thomas / Germany

Lovely light honey-coloured oil with a citrusy lemon opening. The opening is of flowers, rose and sweet vanilla. Within a few minutes something sweet comes through. After 15 or so minutes, this smells more like a perfume than an oud. There is a subtle camphor/menthol undertone. This mingles with the sweeter aspects more and more as the scent progresses.

This is quite a powerful oud. The scent is full, plump and deep. A very clean smelling oil. After about 50 minutes the bright opening starts to fade and resins come into play more significantly. There are wisps of smoke.

Upon inhaling deeply, towards the end of the inhalation there are hints of tobacco.

It lasts for a long time. 12 hours later I can still smell it quite strong without having to bury my nose to find it. This is having applied overnight too which is my primary marker; if it is still there the next day having survived the night, then performance is stellar.
—Zartash / UK

Plum Purple Spice
Hint of Creamy Honey
Ancient Woods Mustiness
Warm Majestic Mahogany
Balsamic Berry Floral
Deep Resinous Incense
Enchanting Powdery Kinam Smoke
Mature and Refined
Amber Syrupy Smoothness
Elixir of Purple Haze
Cool Sweet and Rich Mustiness
Deep Resinous Roots
Balsam Woody Incense
Sweet Musty Smoke

PK keeps on peaking, continually fluttering on the edge of ecstasy. All from the tiniest dab.
—Joel / Cambodia

I don’t know how you talked your Taiwanese distiller out of retirement but every single oil that he has done that I have bought was simply outstanding and without a parallel.
—Hisham / USA

Suspended on a quivering rope bridge between the sheer faces of Taroko Gorge, the fractured cliffs dared me to attempt another swaying step in either direction. I froze, trembling but transfixed – mesmerized by the aerial acrobatics and cursive dives of gliding swallows. Purple Kinam embodies the swallow’s soaring grace and shines with the crystalline audacity of Qingshui Cliff. The opening notes ascend with effortless swiftness, flashing and sparkling as brightly as the gorge’s crystalline marble escarpments.

While the ‘birds of freedom’ resist captivity, Purple Kinam’s spiraling flight is easily tamed, its fragrance mellowing and softening as it melds to my skin. During the drydown its ethereal sparkle is polished into a luster as smooth as the lotus petals on Motherly Devotion Bridge, notes of powder and vanilla forming a mosaic of silky translucence. From its exuberantly youthful opening to its serene closure, Purple Kinam is suffused with vitality, radiance, ease and grace. It has stimulated some of my most beautiful and treasured memories and I know that, years from now, I will just as deeply cherish my memories of this exceptional scent.

I just finished reading the article about Purple Kinam on the Ensar Oud website. You can imagine my surprise when I read that the oil was distilled in Taiwan, the home of Taroko Gorge!!! Taroko means ‘magnificent and splendid’, an apt description of both the scenic landmark and the mesmeric oil. Perhaps it is something more than coincidence that stimulated my memories of this landscape of natural wonders when I smelled this wondrous creation.
—Isabella / USA