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Rising Phoenix Perfumery
Kota Kupang - Sandalwood Origins Series - Artisan West Timor Sandalwood Oil
Kota Kupang - Sandalwood Origins Series - Artisan West Timor Sandalwood Oil
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$90.00 USD
Regular price
Sale price
$90.00 USD
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Shipping & Returns Info.
Shipping & Returns Info.
Pertaining to all customers:
Our current lead time can range from 1 to 8 weeks.
Special requests can be made in the "notes" section on the checkout page.
All orders are final. There are no cancellations or returns.
Reach out the the RPP team as soon as possible if you need to make changes to your order.
International customers: The RPP team highly recommends shipping with a private courier for accurate tracking information and timeliness.
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Class : Old Wild Red Meat
Region : Northern Kupang, West Timor (Indonesian: Timor Barat)
Born : early 2018
Rising Phoenix is known far and wide as the world's premier resource for exceptional small batch custom distillations of premium rare sandalwood oils.
Never one to disappoint - Rising Phoenix has primarily launched custom distillations from the Mysore region of India. Today marks a turn for a deeper exploration of the Origins of Sandalwood.
When asking where the best sandalwood in the world comes from - most will say "India". When asking where sandalwood is FROM - most will say "India or Indochina". They would arguably be correct with their first answer...and possibly incorrect with their second.
Wait...what?!
It's actually believed that Sandalwood originates from a group of Southern Indonesian Islands, and was transplanted by bird and man some 4,000 - 5,000 years ago into the Indochina region.
Upon learning this many years ago, I began exploring the region of what could possibly be the Origins of Sandalwood.
It's taken me 2 years of painful losses, thefts, and crookery from the people of this region. They are a tough group of peoples to do business with. It was demoralizing at times, but we forged ahead, continuing to search for and build reliable relationships.
That hard work has paid off - and now I am proud to present : Rising Phoenix's Sandalwood Origins Series.
ABOUT KUPANG
Kupang (Indonesian: Kota Kupang, Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈkupaŋ] ; Dutch spelling: Koepang) is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara.
Kupang was an important port and trading point during the Portuguese and Dutch colonial eras. There are ruins and remnant signs of the colonial presence in the city.
West Timor (Indonesian: Timor Barat) is the western and Indonesian portion of the island of Timor next to the country of East Timor (Indonesian: Nusa Tenggara Timur).
During the colonial period it was known as Dutch Timor.
The earliest historical record about Timor island is 14th century Nagarakretagama, Canto 14, that identify Timur as an island within Majapahit's realm. Timor was incorporated into ancient Javanese, Chinese and Indian trading networks of the 14th century as an exporter of aromatic sandalwood, slaves, honey and wax, and was settled by both the Portuguese, in the 16th century, and the Dutch, based in Kupang, in the mid-17th century.
European colonization of Timor began in the 16th century. Although the Portuguese claimed the island of Timor in 1520, the Dutch (in the form of the Dutch East India Company) settled West Timor in 1640, forcing the Portuguese out to East Timor. The subsequent collapse of the company meant that in 1799, the area returned to official Dutch rule. Finally, in 1914, the border between East and West Timor was finalized by a treaty between Portugal and the Netherlands that was originally signed in 1859 and modified in 1893.
SCENT PROFILE
Oils from this region are often sold to Indian distillers to dilute or altogether replace oils from their region due to the new regulations and climbing price of their own sandalwood stocks. You'll notice that it has a lot of similarities with a good Mysore oil, and if we weren't being honest, I'm pretty sure we could sell it as one and fool most into thinking that it was a top grade Mysore oil.
To the trained nose, however - Kota Kupang is something unique. Older bones. Older DNA. Distinctive from Mysore oils. This oil smells like distant memories of faraway sandalwood dreams...
Visually - this is an unusual yellow colored oil. The vibrant yellow reminds me a bit of the yellow Gatorade we drank as kids. You can tell this oil is gonna pack a punch just from how it refracts the light that hits it.
If we were to sum it up in two words - Kota Kupang is effortlessly chill.
The oil opens on a bright, uplifting note. Not ethereal - but light and relaxed, like the first rays of soft sunshine in the morning.
Whereas Kopondai has a spicy note - Kota Kupang has more of a luscious woody waxiness. Not quite varnished - it smells more like polished and waxed wood, in the most pleasant way possible. Shiny and glossy, almost.
Where Kopondai was deep and resinous - Kota Kupang is bright and woody. Like the color of the oil, itself - Kota Kupang is like a bottle of Sandalwood Sunshine. Light, bright, and cheerful.
If you were fortunate to try our initial test batch TSO 1 (from the Eastern part of the Island better known as Timor L'Este) - you'll be surprised at just how different this oil is from the initial tests we ran. TSO 1 was an unusual transparent oil with rich depth and powderiness. Kota Kupang, on the other hand, is brightly yellow - like bottled sunshine - and the oil's bright woodiness is reflected in its color.
There is something about this oil that tugs at the depths of the soul. It's as if there is a part of me "knows" this DNA from some past life...
Top quality woods from this region have a reddish heartwood that is referred to as "Red Meat" in Asia. The oils are usually called "Red Oils" - not because of the color of the oil - but in reference to the color of the woods they are distilled from.
The trees usually need to be over 100 years to develop this red meat heartwood. They are rare, expensive, and usually reserved for beads and carvings destined for the markets of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan - where the buyers pay top dollar for the best of everything the natural world has to offer. Rarely are they distilled for their oil any longer. Until Now!
**I saw some Timor Sandalwood beads of comparable quality to some Timor beads I've made while I was in Japan in April/May of 2018...those beads were $2,500!
Fortunately, I've found a very few reliable bead makers and am now purchasing all of the dust and breakaway from their red meat bead making. We are distilling some locally in Indonesia, and are working on distilling some here in the USA, as well.
Pick up a bottle of Kota Kupang and wrap your nose around ancient Sandalwood DNA of the likes few have smelled in the Modern Age!
REVIEWS
"Oh, and I meant to tell you that I tried the Kupang. It's probably the woodiest sandalwood I've tried. Like, DEEP wood. However, it doesn't start out that way. When I first put it on, I was hit with notes of turpentine (but in a good way, not like it was cut with turpentine) and mechanics grease. I mean, the swipe initially smelled exactly like a man's clothing after he's been working beneath a car or in a machine shop. It's super masculine. And then the super woody notes emerge. It's very interesting and different.
You have so much amazing stuff in your store that I couldn't even begin to keep up even with samples!"
~Chelsea, USA
---------
I sent Chelsea, above, a sample of the wood we used to distill Kota Kupang, and her was her response:
"Holy shit, that piece of Timor wood is ridiculous!"
Enough said :)
"I'm wearing the Kopandai Flores and Kota Kupang side-by-side at the moment.
The Flores has a really interesting mineralic/earthy/jungle-y/forest floor soil vibe to it, almost like you find in Maroke ouds. Actually, that's really the only analog I can think of for what it smells like - I mean, it doesn't smell like a Maroke oil, but it has that same fantastically distinctive earthy 'dirt' accord. Really cool and totally unexpected to find that in a sandal distillation! It's peaceful and exciting at the same time. I'm certainly no life-long sandalwood expert, but I've perused quite a few and I've never smelled one like this before. Fun!
Kota Kupang is very classic, in the best way. An easy-going, bright, woody sandal profile. You can tell there's some red heartwood in here, it adds a depth and that classic red signature, but not so much that it becomes musky or intensely spicy. I know some people love that intense quality in sandal, but I much prefer the stripped down, linear, bright woody/powdery/minty hum from something like the TImor/TS01 you did in 2017 - and in Kota Kupang I get the best of both worlds. I think anyone who liked TS01 would really dig this too. I know I do."
~Ben, USA
Materials: Kupang Sandalwood Oil,Indonesian Sandal,Red Meat Sandalwood,Sandalwood Oil
Only 1 available
Region : Northern Kupang, West Timor (Indonesian: Timor Barat)
Born : early 2018
Rising Phoenix is known far and wide as the world's premier resource for exceptional small batch custom distillations of premium rare sandalwood oils.
Never one to disappoint - Rising Phoenix has primarily launched custom distillations from the Mysore region of India. Today marks a turn for a deeper exploration of the Origins of Sandalwood.
When asking where the best sandalwood in the world comes from - most will say "India". When asking where sandalwood is FROM - most will say "India or Indochina". They would arguably be correct with their first answer...and possibly incorrect with their second.
Wait...what?!
It's actually believed that Sandalwood originates from a group of Southern Indonesian Islands, and was transplanted by bird and man some 4,000 - 5,000 years ago into the Indochina region.
Upon learning this many years ago, I began exploring the region of what could possibly be the Origins of Sandalwood.
It's taken me 2 years of painful losses, thefts, and crookery from the people of this region. They are a tough group of peoples to do business with. It was demoralizing at times, but we forged ahead, continuing to search for and build reliable relationships.
That hard work has paid off - and now I am proud to present : Rising Phoenix's Sandalwood Origins Series.
ABOUT KUPANG
Kupang (Indonesian: Kota Kupang, Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈkupaŋ] ; Dutch spelling: Koepang) is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara.
Kupang was an important port and trading point during the Portuguese and Dutch colonial eras. There are ruins and remnant signs of the colonial presence in the city.
West Timor (Indonesian: Timor Barat) is the western and Indonesian portion of the island of Timor next to the country of East Timor (Indonesian: Nusa Tenggara Timur).
During the colonial period it was known as Dutch Timor.
The earliest historical record about Timor island is 14th century Nagarakretagama, Canto 14, that identify Timur as an island within Majapahit's realm. Timor was incorporated into ancient Javanese, Chinese and Indian trading networks of the 14th century as an exporter of aromatic sandalwood, slaves, honey and wax, and was settled by both the Portuguese, in the 16th century, and the Dutch, based in Kupang, in the mid-17th century.
European colonization of Timor began in the 16th century. Although the Portuguese claimed the island of Timor in 1520, the Dutch (in the form of the Dutch East India Company) settled West Timor in 1640, forcing the Portuguese out to East Timor. The subsequent collapse of the company meant that in 1799, the area returned to official Dutch rule. Finally, in 1914, the border between East and West Timor was finalized by a treaty between Portugal and the Netherlands that was originally signed in 1859 and modified in 1893.
SCENT PROFILE
Oils from this region are often sold to Indian distillers to dilute or altogether replace oils from their region due to the new regulations and climbing price of their own sandalwood stocks. You'll notice that it has a lot of similarities with a good Mysore oil, and if we weren't being honest, I'm pretty sure we could sell it as one and fool most into thinking that it was a top grade Mysore oil.
To the trained nose, however - Kota Kupang is something unique. Older bones. Older DNA. Distinctive from Mysore oils. This oil smells like distant memories of faraway sandalwood dreams...
Visually - this is an unusual yellow colored oil. The vibrant yellow reminds me a bit of the yellow Gatorade we drank as kids. You can tell this oil is gonna pack a punch just from how it refracts the light that hits it.
If we were to sum it up in two words - Kota Kupang is effortlessly chill.
The oil opens on a bright, uplifting note. Not ethereal - but light and relaxed, like the first rays of soft sunshine in the morning.
Whereas Kopondai has a spicy note - Kota Kupang has more of a luscious woody waxiness. Not quite varnished - it smells more like polished and waxed wood, in the most pleasant way possible. Shiny and glossy, almost.
Where Kopondai was deep and resinous - Kota Kupang is bright and woody. Like the color of the oil, itself - Kota Kupang is like a bottle of Sandalwood Sunshine. Light, bright, and cheerful.
If you were fortunate to try our initial test batch TSO 1 (from the Eastern part of the Island better known as Timor L'Este) - you'll be surprised at just how different this oil is from the initial tests we ran. TSO 1 was an unusual transparent oil with rich depth and powderiness. Kota Kupang, on the other hand, is brightly yellow - like bottled sunshine - and the oil's bright woodiness is reflected in its color.
There is something about this oil that tugs at the depths of the soul. It's as if there is a part of me "knows" this DNA from some past life...
Top quality woods from this region have a reddish heartwood that is referred to as "Red Meat" in Asia. The oils are usually called "Red Oils" - not because of the color of the oil - but in reference to the color of the woods they are distilled from.
The trees usually need to be over 100 years to develop this red meat heartwood. They are rare, expensive, and usually reserved for beads and carvings destined for the markets of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan - where the buyers pay top dollar for the best of everything the natural world has to offer. Rarely are they distilled for their oil any longer. Until Now!
**I saw some Timor Sandalwood beads of comparable quality to some Timor beads I've made while I was in Japan in April/May of 2018...those beads were $2,500!
Fortunately, I've found a very few reliable bead makers and am now purchasing all of the dust and breakaway from their red meat bead making. We are distilling some locally in Indonesia, and are working on distilling some here in the USA, as well.
Pick up a bottle of Kota Kupang and wrap your nose around ancient Sandalwood DNA of the likes few have smelled in the Modern Age!
REVIEWS
"Oh, and I meant to tell you that I tried the Kupang. It's probably the woodiest sandalwood I've tried. Like, DEEP wood. However, it doesn't start out that way. When I first put it on, I was hit with notes of turpentine (but in a good way, not like it was cut with turpentine) and mechanics grease. I mean, the swipe initially smelled exactly like a man's clothing after he's been working beneath a car or in a machine shop. It's super masculine. And then the super woody notes emerge. It's very interesting and different.
You have so much amazing stuff in your store that I couldn't even begin to keep up even with samples!"
~Chelsea, USA
---------
I sent Chelsea, above, a sample of the wood we used to distill Kota Kupang, and her was her response:
"Holy shit, that piece of Timor wood is ridiculous!"
Enough said :)
"I'm wearing the Kopandai Flores and Kota Kupang side-by-side at the moment.
The Flores has a really interesting mineralic/earthy/jungle-y/forest floor soil vibe to it, almost like you find in Maroke ouds. Actually, that's really the only analog I can think of for what it smells like - I mean, it doesn't smell like a Maroke oil, but it has that same fantastically distinctive earthy 'dirt' accord. Really cool and totally unexpected to find that in a sandal distillation! It's peaceful and exciting at the same time. I'm certainly no life-long sandalwood expert, but I've perused quite a few and I've never smelled one like this before. Fun!
Kota Kupang is very classic, in the best way. An easy-going, bright, woody sandal profile. You can tell there's some red heartwood in here, it adds a depth and that classic red signature, but not so much that it becomes musky or intensely spicy. I know some people love that intense quality in sandal, but I much prefer the stripped down, linear, bright woody/powdery/minty hum from something like the TImor/TS01 you did in 2017 - and in Kota Kupang I get the best of both worlds. I think anyone who liked TS01 would really dig this too. I know I do."
~Ben, USA
Materials: Kupang Sandalwood Oil,Indonesian Sandal,Red Meat Sandalwood,Sandalwood Oil
Only 1 available
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