White Kinam is the [superlative] [superlative] [superlative] Malinau oil ever distilled by the son of Adam.
Insert your own words ending in -est in the brackets above. Add more flowery language to taste, until you can see just how great this oud is…
It’s intoxicating. A scent from the Oriscent days, re-incarnate. We literally tracked down the same grade agarwood from thirteen years ago, chips and chunks still intact, and flew it to Taiwan to the only man who could raise the old Borneo Diesel (aka Borneo 4000) back from the dead.
When I say chips and chunks still intact, I mean planks of wood the size of your bicep—not shavings, dust, or even logs. You probably know the wood is now a modern-day Holy Grail pursuit for distillers, all of whom lament the disappearance of not just high-grade Malinau, but any half-decent feedstock from this legendary province. To put things in perspective: the original Borneo 3000 was Malinau. So was the dieselicious 4000. That’s the caliber we’re talking about here. Borneo 4000, done the Nha Trang LTD/Royal Kinam way.
The 3000-effect with Purple Kinam’s powdery incense thrown in for good measure, or Sheikh’s Borneo’s beauty… all these ouds share an etheral signature of old Malinau aloes distilled a certain way that is almost impossible to replicate. Besides the mindbending powdery kinamic profile, a tell-tale feature is that the powdery airiness lasts. Modern attempts to replicate this effect inevitably result in a fleeting remembrance of things past, where 15 minutes after application you’re left wondering where’d the smell go? like a match that burns bright for a second, then dies out as quick.
I know you’re not supposed to mess with perfection, but Borneo 3000 was distilled 13 years ago. It might have the benefit of all those years aging, but we’ve learned a couple of things the past decade and went at White Kinam lock, stock, and two smoking barrels to give it a superior edge.
Guilty as I may be of hyperbole—what’s a seasoned Malinau fiend supposed to do? I’m madly enamored of oud and some skeptics confuse my most passionate moments—writing about a bottle of oud that took months, years, blood, sweat and tears, to make—for someone who sells bricks. So, pardon me for shamelessly saying what I believe to be the naked truth:
White Kinam is royal, ivory-tower oud. Aphrodisiacal, spouse-pleasing without peer. If sapphires had a smell, if you could dab on the scent of gold, spray on the ethereal beauty of a ruby, White Kinam would be their muse. I ought to use more superlatives, but when even metaphors don’t do it justice, there’s little left to say.
Featured Testimonials…
White Kinam, wow. What an absolute heavyweight this is. The best thing I’ve ever smelt? There are no words. I’ve been trying to talk myself out of buying a bottle since I made my first swipe. I’ve had it up against all my Borneo’s and it’s pedigree is well deserved- oh how it has made me appreciate the collection I have. Borneo is definitely my thing and White Kinam is a cut above.
The most mysterious substance this side of heaven: WHITE KINAM. Just a sniff from the stopper; Cherries? Cinnamon? Pepper? Juniper? Gun powder? Sulphur? Diamond dust? Emerald powder? A shadow of tangerine? A condensed white flower? Moonshine? Rays from Venus? Humming of molecules? A comet? A cricket? Aurora? This is completely way-out.
White Kinam, my hands are shaking!
The White Kinam… what can I say? With a description like Ensar has offered, there’s not much else one can add. It’s everything one could want from an Oud, with such a piercing level of clarity and performance that it seems almost impossible.
From the moment you apply it, you’re greeted with vaporous gleaming beauty, and that’s where you stay for the entire wear. Which isn’t to say that there is no progression, as there certainly is. But it’s like the idea of tracking projection becomes irrelevant. You just enjoy one perfect moment after another. It calls you to presence. I was even called to taste a pinhead-sized amount, and it deepened my appreciation even further. The bitter medicinal kinam note completely overwhelms the senses when tasting and smelling simultaneously. Blissful and enlivening.
The Oriscent signature is evident. Traces of Kyara LTD felt in this oil. Vietnamese to the max yet fully both feet planted in Malinau. An oil that leaves me breathless speechless and motionless. Total couch lock. A magical cocktail of mandarin orange creamsicle, most beautiful cinnamon, open knit yet very dense at the same time. Packs quite the upper cut and delivers a knock out each and every time for me. Energy wise I enter a unique state of mind with this oil: fully awake and alert yet bubble head and mellow.
Top to bottom, this oil has it all. Vaporous top notes that excite and thrill, hefty mid notes and that soul-stirring Kyara LTD-esque dry down. Yowza. What an oil. It yells Borneo. The scent profile to my nose is somewhere between Malinau and the brighter green like Kalimantan.
There is that kinamic bitter buzz that is mind bending, similar to the way that Kyara LTD 2.0 excites. Words don’t fit. Gotta try this one yourselves folks
Possibly the most heady oil I own. That and Guallam Solide. Vaporous was a word used elsewhere and I totally agree. Heady, vaporous and kaleidoscopic, in a beautiful way. Just superb.
I now understand the legend of Kinam. Clouds of incense almost Mysore like density later turning into intensely powdery scent. Unbelievable intensity throughout the development. The strength and nasal overload was massive. It went straight to the head reaching around the temples. A superlative oil, amongst all oud oils I’ve sample nothing brought about the feeling of zen like this one! I understand the draw to kodo ceremonies, perhaps little wafts of kinamic breeze suddenly surprising & hitting you every now and then.
This will sit well right along side with Purple Kinam . That inital blast of Oriscent explosion just makes me want to come back and reach for more everytime. White Kinam is absolutely amazing. Words can’t do it justice. A powerful, heady, vapoury yet smooth oudh. I get notes of vanilla, peppermint and cinnamon along with the classical Borneo profile somewhat akin to Borneo 50k. How I’d love to own a full bottle of it!!
I’m crossing over into what I would consider really challenging territory for reviews. White Kinam hits me initially as a bit starchy, like vintage cloth, and chalky, however underneath that opening puff there’s a subtle creaminess that creates this illusion of being warm, and not so dry for a quick second. It’s very soft and delicate. It’s also wrapped in that narcotic, pleasantly mild camphorous aspect holding a little sweetness within it as well. Very mystical and potion-like. Needless to say both the complexity of it and the “narcotic, camphorous” aspects are indicator of special type of high quality oil. Moving from the smell out of the bottle to the first swipe, I’m going to repeat what I get at the top, as it’s a little different on skin – the linen like, starchy aspect is a little more dominant and there’s a “stately bitterness” again a little more apparent. This surely is signature of kyara or kinam as described by Kodo masters. The creaminess starts to fly around it and just as you move your nose away; a flash of aromatic woody sweetness that makes your eyes widen. I’ve smelled this in Vietnamese & Chinese oils. In the end, when it has thoroughly dried, it is like a cloud, airy, velvety, with hints of sweetened milk. The first oil I’ve tried that I feel is almost like a religious experience. (Also PS, I am noticing that the color of the oils and their viscosity can be indicative of what’s to come in the aroma).
To honour today’s Labour Day holiday; a day to pause and reflect on how hard we work and the sacrifices we make to sustain ourselves and our families, nothing else is more justifiable than a swipe of the best of the best: White Kinam from EO.
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