Pekanbaru opens from the dipstick with a bittersweet medicinal note interwoven with jungle florals — the kind of register that sits just on the border between green Indonesia and the lifted, slightly cooling profiles of the very best Qi Nam-style oils. On the skin the composition resolves into a clear Indonesian jungle reading, but it carries an unusual dimension of brightness — a faint mentholic shimmer over the green, the sense that air is moving through the heart of the oil rather than sitting still. We find it fascinating in a region where most oils tend toward the dense and the still. Sumatra has been quietly producing some of the more interesting wild Malaccensis distillations of the last few years, and Pekanbaru is, for our money, one of the finest examples we have yet sourced. A characterful, slightly unconventional Indonesian for the wearer who already knows the genre and wants to find a fresh corner of it. Pekanbaru, Indonesia. 2021 Available in a 2.5g bottle
