Mehtab
Every attar opens, settles and stays. Pick an oil to see its three tiers, then choose a note to light up every oil that shares it.
6 ml · rose into sandalwood
Damask roses from the fields outside Kannauj, picked before sunrise and distilled the same morning. Fresh and green at first, then deep, honeyed rose.
Choose a note on the pyramid to light up every oil that shares it.
Choose a family to fill the shelf with its oils. Each one is a season in the deg house.
Each oil comes in a 6 ml faceted bottle with a glass dauber. One drop on the wrist, behind the ear or on a cotton swab in the pocket.
Florals6 ml · rose into sandalwood
Damask roses from the fields outside Kannauj, picked before sunrise and distilled the same morning. Fresh and green at first, then deep, honeyed rose.
Florals6 ml · jasmine into sandalwood
Jasmine sambac buds gathered at dusk, when they open. Creamy and bright, the smell of a summer wedding garland.
Florals6 ml · screwpine into sandalwood
The long, fragrant flower of the screwpine, from the coast and distilled here. Green and sweet, with a little honey.
Rain & Earth6 ml · baked clay into sandalwood
Discs of Kannauj clay, baked dry in the sun and then distilled, so the oil smells exactly like the first rain on hot ground.
Rain & Earth6 ml · vetiver root into sandalwood
Vetiver root, the same that is woven into summer screens and soaked with water. Cool, green and smoky; worn in the heat.
Rain & Earth6 ml · kadamba flower into sandalwood
The round, golden kadamba flower that blooms with the monsoon. Soft and creamy, with wet leaves around it.
Spice6 ml · forty herbs and spices
A winter attar of saffron, spices, herbs and resins distilled together over many days. Warm, dark and long on the skin.
Spice6 ml · henna and spice into sandalwood
Henna flower and leaf, with cardamom and clove. The smell of hands painted for a festival, a little bitter, very warm.
Spice6 ml · saffron into sandalwood
Saffron threads steeped and distilled into sandalwood. Golden, leathery and soft, like a sweet made for a guest.
Woods6 ml · sandalwood oil
Sandalwood alone, the oil every other attar here is distilled into. Milky, quiet and close to the skin.
Woods6 ml · agarwood in sandalwood
Agarwood from Assam, with saffron and rose around it. Smoky, animal and deep: the strongest oil on the shelf.
Woods6 ml · resin and honey in sandalwood
Amber resin warmed with honey and a little clove. Sweet, round and golden; the one people ask about.
No oils in this family right now.
The way Kannauj has always made it: copper, fire, bamboo and water, with sandalwood oil waiting at the other end.
Flowers are picked before the sun is on them and reach the deg by mid-morning, still cool.
Petals and water go into a copper deg over a wood fire. The lid is sealed with clay so nothing leaves but the steam.
The scented steam climbs a bamboo pipe, the chonga, and runs down into the bhapka, which already holds sandalwood oil.
The bhapka sits in cool water. The steam turns back to water and the flower’s oil settles into the sandalwood. The deg is charged again and again, for days.
The water is drawn off and the attar goes into a kuppi, a leather flask that breathes, to rest until it rounds out.
The courtyard is open to visitors in the distilling season and the counter all year. Write to us for a tester, a wedding order or help choosing an oil.
We have received your order and emailed you a copy.