Namtok – Oud of Trat province (Aquilaria crassna)

Namtok – Oud of Trat province (Aquilaria crassna)

There are ouds that whisper, and there are ouds that speak softly but firmly. Namtok belongs to that second lineage. From the first moment, this amber oud imposes itself with an earthy, enveloping, almost physical density. It is a dark, moist, and resinous wood, as if each drop contained the marrow of a century-old trunk split in two.

Its opening is intensely woody, but without harsh edges: reminiscent of the deep heart of an aged teak beam, untouched by decades of silence. Slowly, herbal notes emerge, subtle like the sigh of a Thai mountain after a rainstorm.

And then, unexpectedly, the milky accord: warm, creamy, almost elastic. A reminiscence that caresses more than perfumes, as if the oud were remembering that, before hardening into resin, it was also living sap, flowing slowly through a plant's body.

Namtok is an oud to contemplate. It doesn't seek to please everyone, nor does it need to. It's for those who love wood, earth, and depth. An oud that doesn't sparkle, but burns slowly.