I would like to elaborate on the concept of artisanal oud

In order to be able to talk about an artisanal oud, first of all, the oud to be used must be incense grade, that is, carefully selected incense pieces with the highest concentration of resins that make oud valuable.

We use completely wild incense grade ouds in our artisanal distillations. The supply of these products requires a very serious network, regardless of the price. Oud hunters around the world, with whom we are in constant contact, send us product samples when they find the products which they know we interested in , and we buy the ones we find suitable after the necessary examinations.

The kilogram prices of these woods start at a minimum of $3000 (wholesale) and can go up to $20,000. And 1 kilo of real incense grade wood can give from 5 to 10 grams of oil. (Depending on your distillation skills, which is a very big factor. And the quality of the wood)

Oud contains hundreds of organic compounds, some related to odor, some not.

The part that concerns us is the part about odor.

Each compound can be extracted from wood at different temperatures (with steam), for example, in a distillation at a constant 100 degrees or 105 degrees, you will not get the compounds you can get at 97 degrees or the compounds you can get at 110 degrees.

Artisanal distillation is similar to treasure hunting, it also requires intensive research and knowledge, such as knowing which compounds can be extracted to which degree, as well as which distillation method can be used to extract which compounds, which is what makes arrowwood species different from each other, so distilling a crassna type of wood is not the same as distilling a malaccensis type or a sinensis type of wood, the process to be applied to each wood is different.

Also, while a standard distillation process can take between 3 to 7 days to complete, my artisanal distillation takes more than 30 days sometimes , and my last distillation took 29 days.(Vietking)

But is it worth the all this hard work and fine craftsmanship? And if so, what is it?

Yes INDEED , this is the oud that has a complex structure that can intoxicate you, that fluctuates every moment.