Kadamtala 1978 "Ateek Series" Vintage Artisan Oud Oil

Kadamtala Tripura 1978 Ateek - Pure Hindi Tripuri Oud Oil - 46 Year Old Dehn al Oudh - Ateek Series - 10 Year Commemorative Anniversary

Jungle : Kadamtala Tripura - India - Tripura / Bangladeshi / Lower Assamese Border
Class : Wild - a single, ancient tree - exact age unknown, but "centuries old"
Distillation : Traditional, Wood-fired Copper Deg and Bapkah - Collection of First 3 Days

Although I started Rising Phoenix in 2011 with a launch of alcohol-based fragrances - 2014 is when the company launched in it's current format here in Etsy, just before the Christmas season.

The world has changed a lot since then ... we were the only Agarwood and Oud vendor on Etsy at that time. Look at everything we've since inspired !

As such, 2024 is a 10 Year Anniversary, of sorts, and I wanted to launch a few extra special oils as we gear up for the holiday season and our unofficial 10 Year Commemoration.

Now for a real doosy ... a pure 1978 Tripura !!

This is a relic distilled during the early 3rd Quarter of the last Century 😱

This oil is a unique historical relic that I acquired directly from the distillation family that produced it in 1978. I was lucky in that they still had some of the distillation details, which I included above.

I was also super lucky and acquired the last remaining rock-like sinkers from which this very oil was distilled. Same tree, harvested in 1978. Those haven't gotten here yet, but rest assured that once they do - I'll be getting a few up into the shop !

I have several of my own operations in various locations, and my Indian operation has become finely tuned at connecting with *old old* family operations, or their descendants, in the case that the operation is no longer functional. It's gotten to a point that they are now seeking US out, which is great news for all of you. Lots of cool relics to find their way into the shop for years to come.

In a country like India with such a long history of harvesting and oil production, it's amazing some of these historical finds from decades, even centuries past, that I've been able to be adding to the growing collection. It almost feels like an archaeological find !

“Ateek” - for those wondering, our English word for Antique has it’s roots in this word, which is the same word in both Arabic and Hebrew. It means ooooold ... a fitting moniker for this rare gem of an oil.

Regardless of the specific geo-location, it’s not often we get an uncut family heirloom that is 46 years old and counting !

Just consider for a moment how a good bottle of Scotch is valued. 16-18 years old is already getting rare. 20-25 years old, and maybe a fortunate few will get themselves a bottle. 30 years old? 50? Usually fewer than 100 bottles will be sold world wide. And to find an 80+ year old bottle - you could have a down payment on a house! A nearly 100 year old bottle might buy a neighborhood of them !!

Extremely old Oils like these are rarely, if ever, available to the public - let alone in small quantities. Even when I find them, it's "all or nothing" - take it all, or lose the opportunity. So it's quite a rare convenience being able to even be able to sample an oil of this caliber.

Usually these rare finds are vaulted in VIP circles where the opportunity to purchase them is by invitation only, and at that - at prices manifoldly higher than what I offer them for. I know of two such VIP vaults, specifically - and I say this with confidence as I have a few customers in that echelon that have told me quite a few stories ... and prices - with the added burden of minimum quantity thresholds.

I only mention this to emphasize just how rare it is to find an oil like this made available to the public, at a price that is less than a really old bottle of whiskey - and at a price tag far below what you'd expect on a dram of a bottle that old. These are historical relics, juiced from ancient trees, at a time when all the best wood would have been tossed into the pot to make the richest, most excellent oils that simply are not possible to reproduce today in any kind of scalable capacity.

My Ateek Series collection of oils are curated by me, and are mine, and mine alone. They are not available anywhere else, and your access to them is exclusively through Rising Phoenix.

THE SCENT

Tripura Oils (along with Mizoram) are some of my personal faves. There's something about the uniqueness of the odor profiles that I don't find in oils from other neighboring regions. Despite this oil having a few nuances akin to it's neighbors in Bangladesh and Lower Assam - I still find this oil to be distinctly Tripuri DNA.

This particular oil was distilled from a single ancient tree harvested in 1978 that was found in a finger of northern Tripura sandwiched between Bangladesh and Lower Assam.

As one would hope, this oil smells ... ATEEK. It reeks of ancient awesomeness. Timeless old trees in primeval forests. Scents from another Time. Whispers of history long past. Yet it's surprisingly vibrant and lively, I presume because this was the first 3 days of distillation that was collected and reserved. Those first few days usually contain the most lively and zesty sesquiterpenes. Don't worry - the longevity is there, too.

Long before Cambodia became famous for Agarwood - or Laos or Malinau or Sri Lanka, for that matter - even before majestic Manipur and Sultanic Mizoram - Tripura sat on the throne of Gulf palettes. The most beloved and sought-after woods in the Gulf market of the 18th and 19th centuries came from Tripura. Imagine having the chance to smell an oil from a time the air and land was even cleaner, when the forests were still ripe with golden harvests, and from an ancient forest, at that !

The scent on this is just gorgeous, and if you’ve been following my work, you know that these old traditionally-produced oils would have likely been made from the best grades of wood and fermented for some various time. Much like whiskey, the bite found in young productions fades and develops in to something that only Father Time can conjure. You can smell the Age and Character in this oil in a manner unheard of in youthful juice, making these old Ateek oils worth more than their weights in gold.

Hidden within the ancient depths of it's orange-golden hue, you may find hints of Varnish,
Golden Pipe Tobacco, Horse Saddles and gently Tanned Leather - alongside whispers of Oud Smoke, all layered over that delectable Tripuri DNA.

There's also an almost milky yogurtiness to it, a lactonic song jumping from the skin, along with what I can only call a Bitter Cacao note. I wouldn't say Kadamtala is Chocolate'y smelling, but it's kinda leaning a little bit in that direction. I'm guessing this may be some of that Bangladeshi proximity that we are smelling.

There's also a little bit of an Assamese tea-like tonality to it that reminds me of some hot cups of black tea I've had over the years ... almost leathery and malty.

It goes without saying that these old traditional Hindis smell quite different in various weather. On a cool and dry day, it may smell more Tea-like. On a hot and humid day (and I loooove wearing Hindis in the heat and humidity) - it takes on an entirely different character that showcases more Leather and Tobacco. I mention merely to remind you : experiment wearing them in different seasons. You'll definitely note some shifts in personality.

I usually don't gender any of my oils or Ouds, but I'd say this particular oil leans more masculine. It's brauny and shirtless and hairy-chested, and I fricken love it. If you love Testosterone, you'll love 1978 Kadamtala Ateek.

These kinds of ancient scents are hard to be replicated. Time and phenomenal raw materials are the only way to produce this kind of textural scent. If you’ve ever tried 50+ year old Scotch - you’ll have an inkling what I’m talking about. Time is the 5th Dimension.

1978 Kadamtala Ateek is an oil for the archives - a centerpiece on your trophy shelf. I imagine for those of you that like to commemorate special occasions with special scents, you'll want to swipe Kadamtala Ateek. For those that do, your future will hold garlands of richly regal Tripuri, gracing your memories for years to come.