Vintage Leyte Shushni Oud

Leyte is a region in oud like no other, no region in recent history has shot to fame quite like this spectacular place. Batches today with that familiar sweet Cambodia-esque aroma are extremely rare and fetch eye watering sums. Collectors today prize their valuable pieces, some flaunt them on instagram, eliciting mouthwatering responses from would be collectors across the world.

Large batches today go on auction in the Gulf, fetching eye-watering sums from the wealthiest men and women in the word, such beautiful oud is unfortunately beyond the reach of the average oud collector today. Not many of us can afford to buy kilograms of the finest Leyte oud, nor compete with literal Sheikhs and millionaires and billionaires even.

But you see, I've been there right through the hype to the present day, collecting precious woods and forging connections that cannot be made with money. As the end of this chapter draws to a close, I've decided its time release this gem from the vault.

This is an old batch of Leyte chunks from the peak of this craze, a beautiful colour of wood with an absolutely mesmerising aroma that will make you fall in love with oud all over again.

It had been a long time since I last fumigated my clothes with oud wood, the aroma of this wood was so enthralling that I had to turn the heat up, to ensure I could carry this extraordinary aroma with me throughout my day.

It has been a long time since an oud wood brought me such joy and satisfaction, heating this batch was like meeting an old friend or relative and reminiscing over great times. This wood reminded me of the greatness of Leyte oud just only a few years ago, the friendships formed, the memories created and the aromatic fulfilment from these precious batches of wood. Behind every trend and every hype there is no doubt some greatness, a reason that lead to the widespread popularity and adoption, this batch will help you to appreciate exactly why Leyte is so special and so important to many oud connoisseurs across the world.

Notes: Cambodi sweetness, spices, earth, cardamom, incense, oud