Hatkora

There is a region in the northeast of the subcontinent that rarely receives the recognition it deserves. Sylhet was once administered as part of Assam under the British Raj, and it is fromthis lush and rain-soaked land that some of the finest agarwood in the world now emerges. I have long believed that Sylheti oud possesses a character quite distinct from its more celebrated cousins — a particular balance of roast coffee and dark chocolate that announces its origin as clearly as a signature. When I resolved to create a fragrance that would honor this terroir, I knew I would need to go further than simply showcasing the oud itself. The shatkora is the culinary treasure of Sylhet, a citrus fruit that defies easy comparison. It is not sweet like an orange nor purely sour like a lemon but occupies its own territory entirely, imparting to the dishes of this region a tangy complexity that haunts the palate long after the meal has ended. I became fascinated with the idea of capturing this fruit in perfumery, and after considerable effort I commissioned what I believe to be the world’s first essential oil distilled from the shatkora. The result exceeded my hopes. The oil carries that unmistakable character, bright and unusual, with an almost savory quality beneath the citrus that hints at the curries and bhuna dishes where it finds its most celebrated expression. For the oud itself, I turned to oil distilled from trees of approximately eighty years of age — the same exceptional material that found its way into Creed’s Zarian. I have used it generously because I wanted there to be no question about what you are smelling. I have grown weary of compositions that claim to feature oud only to bury it beneath a cacophony of synthetic fruits that bear no relation whatsoever to the land from which the wood was harvested. Sylhet is not a place of artificial sweetness. It is a place of tea gardens and wetlands, of ancient trees and monsoon rains, and its oud deserves to be presented with honesty and respect.

The Experience
What emerges from the combination of these elements is something I can only describe as a gourmand experience of an entirely different order. The shatkora announces itself immediately — bright and tangy, with that savoury undertone that sets it apart from any citrus you have encountered before. It is the taste of Sylhet in a single breath. As the heart develops, the darkness of the oud rises to meet it, bringing with it those unmistakable coffee and chocolate undertones that distinguish Sylheti agarwood from all others. There is an earthiness here that grounds the composition, a sense of soil and root and bark, and against this the citrus plays like sunlight breaking through the canopy of a forest. The pairing feels simultaneously unexpected and inevitable. In the dry down, the aged oud reveals its full depth — rich, dark, contemplative. What remains is an impression of those green hills where the agarwood grows old and the shatkora hangs heavy on the branch. I have named this fragrance Hatkhora, using the local pronunciation of the fruit that inspired it. When you wear it, I hope you will taste as much as smell, and that somewhere in its depths you will catch a glimpse of an unsung corner of the world that has given us so much.

Olfactory Notes

Top Notes:

• Shatkora citrus
• Bright tangy accord
• Savoury undertone

Heart Notes:

• Sylheti oud
• Roast coffee
• Earthiness

Base Notes:

• Aged Sylheti oud (80-year trees)
• Dark chocolate
• Forest floor accord