RisingPhoenix

Resident Artisan
Hey Gang,

I distilled quite a bit of this oil, especially for a first run - and it's almost gone. There's been a recent uptick in purchases the past 2 weeks, I guess as word has been getting around at just how unique (and awesome) of an oil it is.

So, I recommend...don't delay. Getchya some while you can.
 

VPhong

Oud Tea
I love sandalwood and enjoy exploring the diversity presented by respected artists offering their custom batches of unique distillations. Whilst understandably the famed Mysore often takes center stage in the world of sandalwood however I have learnt not to overlook the beauty of sandalwood from other regions. Ceylon sandalwood and copper really has its own unique character. I picked up a bottle of the Umami Ceylon and this oil really packs a punch and is easily the most potent sandalwood oil I have come across. I find the aroma fresh and playful offering a delicious candy sweetness, curd/yoghurt note, honey and vanilla tones, creamy, woody. Beautiful oil!

If possible I would love to see more custom distillations of Ceylon sandalwood by Rising Phoenix in the future. :thumbsup:
 

RisingPhoenix

Resident Artisan
I love sandalwood and enjoy exploring the diversity presented by respected artists offering their custom batches of unique distillations. Whilst understandably the famed Mysore often takes center stage in the world of sandalwood however I have learnt not to overlook the beauty of sandalwood from other regions. Ceylon sandalwood and copper really has its own unique character. I picked up a bottle of the Umami Ceylon and this oil really packs a punch and is easily the most potent sandalwood oil I have come across. I find the aroma fresh and playful offering a delicious candy sweetness, curd/yoghurt note, honey and vanilla tones, creamy, woody. Beautiful oil!

If possible I would love to see more custom distillations of Ceylon sandalwood by Rising Phoenix in the future. :thumbsup:

Thanks @VPhong !

It's definitely a unique oil, isn't it? To be honest, I'm a bit surprised at how quickly this oil has sold through the batch. Was a silent lurker there for a minute, and then...boom! There was a land grab. Haha Seems once word got around about its uniqueness and strength...

I'm just glad that everyone has really enjoyed it. This oil was so out there and unique, I wasn't quite sure how folks would respond, as it deviates quite a bit from what one normally expects from a Sandal. Thankfully - Umami Ceylon has been warmly embraced with open arms. Your summation of its character was perfect :)

One can safely expect more disctive Sandal Personalities on the horizon ;)
 

RisingPhoenix

Resident Artisan
It certainly is unique!
JK, any idea of approximate age of wood / roots used for this one?

On this oil, I do not know. Using bead and carving waste to make these - so it's a mix of Branch, Trunk, and Root wood, and the trees used for the carvings are very aromatic.

What I do know is - they aren't young trees and the wood we used to make it are a mix of varying ages of sufficient quality scent.

By using bead waste - I'm getting top quality wood to distill without paying the premium I would if I were using the uncut logs, as I've worked out a few agreements with a few different bead workers to take their waste.

For those coming to the Fayre - I'll be bringing a few examples of Timor logs (heartwood and roots) and some bead waste to illustrate what I'm using (not to mention - they are cool and smell dang fine).

The Ceylon oils we've been distilling locally. Timor (and Flores) oils I'm distilling in 5 places at this point, (including the US and Canada) to maximize various set ups and make the most of exploring scent profiles (TSO1, Kota Kupang and Kopondai Flores being the first examples). Makes for more interesting end results and let's me play with as many artisan distillers and their creative setups as I want :) Who says I have to hog all the fun? :Roflmao:
 

RisingPhoenix

Resident Artisan
OK - let's illustrate a few things, as I know it can be difficult to visualize. For this example - I'm using some Timor material I've got on hand :

These are Timor material.
From Left to Right :
-Bead waste (separated into chunks and powder...all comes as one mix to me)
-Trunkwood (in this case, the base of the tree and initial root knot)
-Roots
IMG_7427.JPG


Up close image of bead waste. As you can see - there's no way of determining exactly what age the pieces come from. All of this material comes from Red Meat logs. I get photos of each lot of logs that come in that the Carving will be coming from as final approval of quality.
IMG_7428.JPG


Roots
These roots are cut from the initial root knots - making the root ball much larger than these individual roots. These root balls can be pretty large and have multiple arms like these.
IMG_7429.JPG



On the one hand, one might see this and think that it isn't a huge trunk. Must keep in mind that all the sapwood is cut away - these are often twice the size of this aromatic centerwood before being cleaned (another reason one doesn't always get an accurate read on the age just by looking at the cleaned aromatic wood). And as a follow up photo will show - not all wood makes it to this red quality - further giving some misleading ages.
IMG_7430.JPG



Root on top. Trunkwood on bottom.
Quite a bit of sapwood and non-aromatic wood can be cut away from these to reveal the aromatic red Meat - so it's tough to gauge age solely from the rings of the aromatic parts.

This trunk log is at least 40 years old going by the rings - but without the full Uncleaned cross section, can't know the exact age. Quite possibly double the visible age or older of what these rings reveal
IMG_7431.JPG



Here's an example of what I'm referring to. Uncleaned roots.

Notice how not even all the center wood is red. This white wood would all be carved out, and these would not be suitable bead quality logs, although the aromatic Red Meat is still suitable to fill my nose :) I keep these as visuals for the time being
IMG_7432.JPG




Must keep in mind also - not all Sandal trees end up producing this Red Meat.

Some produce White and some produce Yellow Meats. I've been distilling this Red Meat, which is quite difficult to source, as it is only produced in older and select trees. Not all trees end up producing this Red Meat, even if they are ancient.
 

RisingPhoenix

Resident Artisan
Just for fun...

Here is one of the root balls I kept from the TSO1 oil (sadly sold out earlier this year)

I kept this root ball because it was visually striking. Notice some of the Root Arms. Notice also how freaking thick this is - and it would have been larger, still, before being cleaned of all the non-Red Meat and sapwood.

Cleaned - this weighs 15'ish kg

PS - still working on making a larger batch of TSO2. V1 was such a hit, I'm gathering all the raw material to make V2

PPS - to give scale size of how large that root ball is - I'm 6'3 / 190cm tall. Notice the circumference in my arms

**Please keep in mind I'm using these Timor logs to illustrate the original question about the age and quality of the Sri Lankan material used to distilled Umami Ceylon :)

IMG_7434.JPG

IMG_7435.JPG
 

Arsalan

True Ouddict
Wow! That’s awesome! Appreciate the detailed reply!
Umami certainly smells so good that I was wondering if the wood was really old...perhaps the mix adds depth & dimension...
Where in Canada are you distilling?!?!
 

RisingPhoenix

Resident Artisan
Wow! That’s awesome! Appreciate the detailed reply!
Umami certainly smells so good that I was wondering if the wood was really old...perhaps the mix adds depth & dimension...
Where in Canada are you distilling?!?!

I'm guessing the mix may have something to do with it :)

Have been collecting wood to send up to a distiller up there. Should be sending it up this week. More details on that to come ;)
 
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