Oud Luwak

In the opening, you get full-on burning agarwood. It's like a fresh piece of resin-heavy wood had been thrown on a white coal vs. the subtlety of an electric burner. When I initially wore this fragrance, the agarwood smoke was shocking; I was not expecting that experience in a perfume. My nose quickly acclimated to it and now the opening is quite intriguing...very few fragrances in the world offer the unique experience of burning agarwood, especially in western-style perfumes. Here, the smoke accord comes from real sinking grade Sumatran agarwood...something special that even few perfume and Oud nerds get to experience. This incensiness hovers beautifully over and perfectly compliments the other notes throughout the wear, as I will explain more in-depth. For me the Sumatran agarwood smoke is the olfactory equivalent of Rob Halford decked out in spiked leathers, riding through the southeast asian jungle, full-throttle on a Harley. This is bad boy juice lol. In addition to the smoke, I get a smooth, black coffee note emerging from underneath. When the coffee and smoke notes combine note they create a "fragrant steam hovering above a hot cup of coffee" accord. Soon after, The Maroke Oud oil appears independently from the smoke. To me, this is the most powerful representation of Oud Adam has offered in one of his compositions. Specifically, I can perceive the individual notes of the Maroke Noir oil independently from the other components of the fragrance. This initially presents a dark, jungly-spicy resinousness, which turns into a very dry, oudy-spiciness. After a while, the Oud Picante DNA comes out with the sweet spiciness of the nard, nutmeg, (and the most satisfying) carrot seed. The benzoin begins to creep in creating a sugared black coffee grounds and spice accord. Then, the benzoin kicked it into high gear, turning this fragrance into a decadent cafe au lait. The cafe au lait accord was short lived and the composition stayed fairly dry. Towards the end of the wear, all of the components sweeten and a beautiful earthy vetiver emerges and almost dominates with a barely noticeable touch of cedar and Indian oud. Finally, the agarwood smoke changed as well, giving off the familiar tones of an almost exhausted piece of agarwood on a dying coal...sweet berried nuances with touches of ashy carbon from the once bubbling resins. What a treat for the perfume fan that has yet to experience artisan oud, or has never burned agarwood...this will open minds. For the oud nerd this would be a great departure from your daily swipe or the need for fumigating your clothes. This fragrance smells natural, has modest projection, and 14+ longevity. Excellent!

Everyone has weaknesses; mine - dark eyes and dark coffee..... and if you add a hint of oud to either, well you got a near damn perfection!..... OUD LUWAK opens with deep, rich, dark, roasted coffee note; accompanied by layers of spices and almost chocolatey sweetness. Probably my favourite part about the opening is that intoxicating smoky vibe, given the composition by sinking grade Sumatra agarwood chips infusion. The smokiness and the bitter facets of coffee create heady and unapologetically sexy aroma! OUD LUWAK doesn't change the whole lot on my skin throughout the life of fragrance. The initial heady blast of smoke and coffee become quieter and take a backseat in the later stages; giving lead to earthy vetiver, spices and heapings of oud - dry, incense laden Maroke; with cedar and boozy, sweet benzoin trailing closely behind. It is balsamic, smokey and resinous melange of deepest black shot through with tones of chocolatey brown, dark green and bronze; richly spiced and unmistakably masculine! I have never gotten the chance to smell Oud Zen and Oud Picante; but OUD LUWAK truly lives up to its legendary predecessor Russian Oud!

Wow! Boom. It's an amazing oud and coffee extravaganza. The oud bowls you over and then settles down. The coffee now comes into it's own. It's lovely dark coffee but I don't think espresso. There is a teeny touch of the animal about it but it's back behind the footlights and might just be a phantom. I'm not sure if it's the benzoin that brings this lovely creamy and soft quality. I have smelt jatamansi once before and I can just about detect it here. I do pick out the carrot seed note. The overall impression is of a rich, creamy, intense oud/coffee bomb. I'd guess the carrot seed stops the oud and coffee becoming too strong or harsh. A sort of calming influence. Further down the timeline and the coffee is indeed king of this scent. The oud sits behind. Good longevity and reasonable sillage in a cool temperature room.

My favourite from the new range. It has undertones of Oud Zen and Russian Oud except that it has a strong note of coffee and nutmeg which gives it an added darkness and mysteriousness that keeps you intrigued on every application. Russian Adam has shown again that his forté is oud and has used some natural ingredients that have rarely been used in fragrances before such as the luwak/civet coffee bean from the civet cat and the sinking Sumatra oud smoke infusion. My wife really enjoys the smell of this on me and surprisingly, my two daughters aged 3 and 7 really love it. If you like coffee and you like oud, then this one is a must-have. If you don't like dark fragrances, then avoid.

This right here is most likely my current favorite. Leads with a heavy and sharp, almost burnt, coffee aroma. It then opens up into an amazing symphony of warm oud, sweet benzoin that almost has a caramel or cola-like character to it, and rich, dark coffee. This is accompanied by a lovely smokiness, like you've thrown a log of agarwood on an open flame, crackling away deep into the night. It lasts a long time, inviting anyone within arm's reach to your luxurious, comforting and warm aura of fragrance. This is, in my opinion, one of the golden standards for perfumes. Especially oud-based ones.