One of knowledge and aesthetic pleasure, Opus XIV - Royal Tobacco is a fragrant journey along the Tropic of Cancer from Oman to Cuba, connecting Royal Frankincense to Regal Tobacco. The perfume references the tradition of ‘El Lector’, whose role was to read to cigarmakers in Cuban factories, captivating them with riveting novels like Les Misérables by Victor Hugo and works by Honoré de Balzac, Edgar Allan Poe or Herman Melville. It became an honored ritual as synonymous with the rolling floor as the scent of tobacco. Interpreted by renowned perfumer Cécile Zarokian, a unique accord of Frankincense and Tobacco bursts alive in a novel and rich sensory experience.
Aromatic flashes of Cardamom and Elemi light up a voluptuous heart shining with many facets of flowers and balsams casting their reflections upon the Frankincense and Tobacco duo. Emboldened by Benzoin, Labdanum and Myrrh, ambery notes of Vanilla Absolute and Tonka Bean echo the coumarinic depth of Fenugreek while graceful volutes of Prunol, Bulgarian Rose and Osmanthus Absolute evoke the fruitiness and floralcy of high-end cigars. Supported by Anise and Basil, the typically treacly burnt molasses notes of Liquorice act as a link with the choral finale of smoky Birch Tar, Vetiver and Guaiacwood amped up by the glaring animality of Oud.
Opus XIV - Royal Tobacco is a daring, lavish, deep and modern creation fit for men and women alike.
Notes: frankincense oil, elemi, cardamom, anise, basil, bergamot, tobacco absolute, liquorice root, lavender, prunol, fenugreek, orange blossom, osmanthus, rose, frankincense resinoid, Peruvian balsam, benzoin, labdanum, myrrh, birch tar, tonka bean, Madagascar vanilla, vetiver, guaiac wood, Assamese oud, musks
Perfumer: Cecile Zarokian
Amouage is known for quality and that cones through in an immediate and obvious way as soon as this scent is applied. The initial aroma for me is a rich and interesting contrast between the basil/cardamom/anise notes and the incredible frankincense, but where this really shines is after about 90 minutes where the complexity really opens up and the smoky/incense/spice depth underpins what are easily the best tobacco notes I've smelled- the ethereal dry whisper of super high quality natural tobacco leaf, where the plum and floral notes serve to heighten the natural characteristics to be found there. Eventually- after perhaps five or six more hours- the scent that lingers is a dry, smoky, vanilla-tinged one, that reminds me of spent incense or burned cigar in the best possible way, along with subtle flashes of oud and musks that give it extra depth.
There are plenty of tobacco scents out there, but not like this. The initial herbal tones, the balancing incense notes (classic amouage), the remarkable 'trueness' and quality of the tobacco, and the way the notes surrounding jt serve to simultaneously highlight the best facets of it and add breadth and complexity in the background, to make it so that that tobacco note is still an integrated part of a greater whole- everything is executed to a really high level.
The projection is quite strong but not excessive.
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