Ghaliya al Molouk 2021 : Precious Fragrance of the King

For those not aware of the tradition of Ghaliyah - Ghaliyah means "Precious" in Arabic, and "al Molouk" means "The King". Ghaliya al Molouk is, quite literally, the Precious Fragrance of The King.

Ghaliyah has been the fragrance of Arabian Sultans and Sheikhs for at least 14 centuries, with the tradition likely pre-dating the Islamic tradition of making them. Since their inception, they were composed of the most precious and expensive aromatics available.

At their most basic, they were fragrances compounded into Oil of Ben (what you and I know as Moringa Oil) and were made from simply Musk and Ambergris. Rose, Saffron, Spices and Oud were all commonly added, as Ghaliyah is less of a singular scent and more of a style comprising a variety of precious ingredients. As this is now my 6th Ghaliyah offered, I can attest that, although they all contain many common core ingredients - each specific oil is quite distinctive from the others.

**(this particular Ghaliyah, btw - uses no carrier oils. Rather I used a vintage Mysore Sandalwood oil)

I chance across some extremely rare aromatics and wanted to combine them in a way that was fitting, and as it's been a few years since I offered a Ghaliyah, I figured now was the perfect time to make another. But first, a little bit about the unusual aromatics found in Ghaliyah al Molouk...


SCENT


The 2020 batch I made was more Saffron-centered. Although this batch also contains Saffron - I wanted this batch to shine a light on a really superb molecularly distilled Grasse Jasmine. It’s nuts, folks. Like wowzah 😱

Grasse is renowned for producing some of THE best and MOST EXCLUSIVE Rose and Jasmine oils. Demand is high, supply is low - making these ultra premium oils from Provence insanely expensive. I was lucky to get my hands on some - and knew the moment I smelled it that it would only have one home - center stage in my next Ghaliyah.


Saffron - although technically a flower pistal and not "a floral" - is by weight, one of the most expensive spices on the planet. It takes roughly 75,000 flowers to make just one pound of dried Saffron, which means roughly 165,000 flowers is needed to make one kilogram of Saffron. If you can envision the number of hands, people, time, and sweat that go into harvesting this very time-sensitive material in order to produce Saffron ... you'll understand why it has been such a highly prized material through the centuries - let alone that marvelous fragrance!

A friend sent me some absolutely marvelous Iranian Saffron that I extracted into Some Mysore over 3 years. It was so incredible smelling that I knew what it would be destined for ... a spicy, almost leathery and animalic aromatic wonder that pairs so magically with the Grasse Jasmine.

I have a few Amber oils that I make and use as compounding materials in some of my other Attars. I chose an Amber of mine that really helps the woody facets of Mysore to shine. It's sweet and resinous on its own, but in composition it enhances wood and spice notes without adding any cloying sweetness.

Distilled Nutmeg can smell a bit spicey and is more of a Top Note - but Nutmeg CO2, used in small quantities, is not only a Base Note - but smells very similar to Deer Musk. Nutmeg was so highly prized in the past that it was traded and used as currency, and who doesn’t want to be a rich nut?

Sri Lankan Spices - I’ve had quite a few custom distilled for me at this point. Sweet sweet Ginger, delightful Clove Buds, genuine Ceylon Cinnamon, to name a few. Special stuff I reserve for only the most special projects.

Tahitian Vanilla - the crème de la crème of Vanillas. Beautifully floral - and near impossible to find as a perfumery material. Skyrocketing vanilla prices the past few years don’t help. But Ghaliyahs are for Kings - and Kings get the good shit. 😉

The Oud I used in the composition has done a really great job of not overtaking the overall scent. In fact - I feel like it melts in so perfectly that it enhances all the facets of the fragrance without really announcing its presence until the dry down. I chose a really woody and slightly fruity Cambodi I had on hand from 2015 that seems to "plump" the fruity tones of the Saffron without being overtly fruity.

I also added some nice, juicy Bhutanese Oud oil. High mountain, Himalayan Exclusive stuff.

And to top it off - I tossed in a little of my insane 1949 Imphal Ateek - because who doesn’t like 73 year old Oud relics?

Ambergris, Musk, and Civet need no introductions - as these have all been given as gifts to Kings throughout time. I chose a beautiful sweet and woody Irish Ambergris, a Central Plains Chinese Musk, and a Civet from small family operation that I know that treats their animals as pets (they treat them so well, in fact - that it impacts how it smells ... more like an unusual floral than it does pissy, like most Civet does). Together they help to give a luxurious pheromonal quality to the oil.

I've sent off a few samples of this over the months to a handful of clients just to get some feedback. They all tell me that 2021 Ghaliyah al Molouk is a hauntingly beautiful, animalic slice of heaven that is a very distinctive and refined Ghaliyah, and quite possibly the best one they've ever smelled.

Each batch of my Ghaliyahs are standalone batches. Once they’re gone - they’re gone ! So I’d recommend grabbing some of this while it’s available, Your Highness 😉