4. Montabaco Intensivo

Absolutely wonderful scent. It's true what people have said, that this is not necessarily "mindblowing" scent in the same way that perhaps an Areej le Dore or Bortnikoff is. There is nothing whatsoever challenging about Montabaco Intensivo. It is, however, a stunning, tranquil, serene, and very appealing fragrance with a ton of depth. In overall style I would say this reminds me of the transparent watercolor-esque masculines of the late 90s/early 2000s. I get shades of Bvlgari Pour Homme Soir/Extreme, Armani Mania, Carolina Herrera Chic, even a touch of Dolce&Gabbana Pour Homme. Not saying that Montabaco Intensivo smells like ANY of those, but that's the kind of vibe it gets off, and I love it. It takes me to 2003 and fills me with a sense of calm. There is something so ebullient, so optimistic, and yet so relaxed about Montabaco Intensivo. It feels like it's from another time, another place. It's simple, but also rich and complex, with each wearing revealing something new. While the name might lead you to believe that this is a tobacco forward scent, it really isn't. There is definitely some green, leafy tobacco, but it's very well blended with tea, suede, "wood" (ISO-Super, Geza's calling card), florals, and aromatics. In fact no one ingredient in particular screams out "I'M HERE!". Everything is folded together seamlessly. In the air you might get more of the citrus and aromatics, while up close on skin you smell more suede, tobacco, and woods. It is simultaneously incredibly fresh and airy (and, surprisingly, remains that way throughout the long life of the scent) and warm. It stays mostly linear, but over time the suede really comes to the fore. By that stage, it starts to remind me of Armani's Eau de Cedre, but with a lighter, less oily suede. There is also nothing at all sweet about this scent. Nada. Zilch. The tonka bean in the base I think only serves to warm the scent, not to sweeten it. If you are like me and straight up tired of all these overly sweetened shisha or pipe tobacco scents, this is definitely something for you, even if the tobacco isn't necessarily the center of attention. This is a green, aromatic, fresh and airy tobacco, more along the lines of Aramis Havana, Monsillage Aviation Club, Miller Harris Feuilles de Tabac, etc. Again, not saying it smells like those fragrances, because it doesn't (Montabaco is nowhere near as heavy or dense), but it also is about as far away from Red Tobacco and Herod as you can get. The mental image I get from the scent is pretty much on point with the inspiration. I imagine a Latin American tobacco farmer looking out on his fields. The snow-crowned Andes tower in the distance, but here in the foothills everything is verdant and green. A light rain falls as the farmer sits on the terrace, rolling a fresh cigarillo and sipping maté. While the scent is comforting and even somewhat familiar, there is also something exotic and adventurous here that reminds me of travel, the optimism of travel. I also get the feeling of being in a beautiful hotel in the tropical part of the world. It's morning, and you just woke up from some truly delicious sleep to the sound of trilling birds-of-paradise. Sun streams through your window. You open up the door onto the balcony and in rushes the sweet breath of the jungle, the mingled scents of green leaves, flowers, earth, dew. The world is waking up and anything is possible. You smile, dress in light, airy linens, and take your morning tea on the patio. Is it a true reflection of the destination it's trying to conjure up? Probably not. But it perfectly captures the idea, the image of traveling to a new place. And I love that. This fragrance smells to me like a time before it became blasé to be genuine. There is no "angle" here, it's not trying to be the "new" or the "next" anything. It holds itself with perfect calm, maturity, and purity, while still being fun. Performance, as has been noted by other reviewers, is monstrous. I think that anyone who doesn't think this lasts long is anosmic to ISO-Super. Two to three sprays are enough to last me all day, as in myself and others get whiffs of it all day. Four or five sprays would be headache inducing, so go easy on the trigger. Two to three sprays though? A lovely, airy trail will follow you around all day long. Which brings me to the price. This scent at retail is incredibly expensive, almost $300. I absolutely love it, but would I pay retail for it? No. Did I pay retail for it? No. I got it for $140 on Ebay and I think that is a much more appropriate price. You do get quite a bit of bang for your buck, but the original Montabaco is almost as strong and smells almost the same. If you can find one of the smaller bottles of the OG for cheap, that is absolutely an option, because to my nose there is very little difference except for increased performance. I also think that the Intensivo does smell a little "warmer", but not by much. Both the OG and Intensivo are masterpieces to my nose, so you really can't go wrong with either. Overall, this is just one of my happy scents. It puts me in such a good mood, but also calms me down and relaxes me. It gives me the courage to face the day knowing that life is good, you got this, and you smell amazing. What more do you want in a scent? Still, this is obviously not for everyone. My mom thought it smelled like burnt oranges. But on the other hand, my friend thought it smelled delicious and wanted me to give him the name of it. Your mileage may vary, so please, do sample before buying, especially given the price. Though it is in my mind a wonderful and mass appealing scent, some people react differently to ISO-Super than others. For me, though, this is just perfect. It's got signature scent written all over it. 9.5/10

Montabaco Intensivo is an absolute powerful banger of a scent, Ormonde Jayne and Geza hit a home run that is probably holding the brand to the top of the "obscure" niche brands to me, i know that Ormonde is known in europe, but very few people will find this one. isn't difficult to get why is the most sold, and is also the one that she personally choosen as the " one " scent she would choose. The easiest way to explain what it is has to start from the fact that in general Tabacco scents are usually heavy, deep and sort of hard to manage, usually the best Tobacco are going next to Vanilla or Leather as TF did, or they are next to Honey as Guerlain did in a very elegant way, but this is totally another level of Tobacco, because they managed to synthethize just the dry elegant part of the leaf, reaching some sort of Tea note, more than gluing the depth of the Tobacco, you find the airyness of a Tea leaf, infused with Cardamom and Sage, it doesn't go on the very spicy accords, but holds perfectly with both the tobacco and the tea, is interesting and is beautiful in the evolution of the scent. Is also true that in the very beginning there is this idea of mountain breeze wich i can't absolutely figure out how they did it, however is there and is crispy, imagine a foggy soft fresh breeze effect around this mix i just described, is light but is also precise and persistent, it has a powerful aurea that is translated in the sillage, it goes and comes on your skin and out of your skin, Later on the Iso super, leather and sandalwood slowly get their place going full elegance, this is a strong character scent, but isn't pretending anything, is simply kind and very pleasant. It also has ton of something that allow the scent to be attached for very long time on the skin, and radiates, is clear is chemical, but it works very well for some reason. You can smell this all day, no problem. Montabaco Intesivo is a well thought elegant man scent, that is created in a way that stands tall and high as a classy fragrance, we are talking Reflection Man level of refinement, is also designed in a way that you can wear it daily, is material for people that don't need to ask, they just sit there and people get to know them just by their charm and presence, if make sense, people are coming to you to talk, rather than the opposite, this is why would work perfectly for someone that is on a high ranking of a company, i know sounds strange, but this is the feeling i have from this work, it goes in that category of top tier works that are perfect for an interesting man that is well put and has his entire life under control, lets say that this ain't the manager of the hotel, this is the dude that owns 3 buildings and walk as if he don't have to show any of his money, rather is kind with anyone around him. Absolute delightful work, that sets the standards of classy man fragrances. If you are scared of Tobacco, or you never had a good experience with it, just try this beautiful and charming work. Enjoy!

Now that they’ve finally added a page for the Intensivo I suppose I’ll share some thoughts on this magnificent creation. I’ve never smelled the original so I can’t compare the two but from what I’ve read they’re very similar, just this is more “intense” more bright and aldehydic, however the wearing experience isn’t very intense per say, it’s very clean, dry, calm and relaxing and just a pleasure to wear. I mean, they bottled mountain air here, and yes, it smells like mountain air on a warm, sunny summer afternoon. The opening you’re introduced to a very smooth, natural, warm and effervescent aroma, like freshly cleaned linen hung out to dry on a warm breezy day. It’s somewhat cloudy but beyond this cloud you can smell the piney juniper, sweet uncut mandarin, green cardamom, bergamot and an herbal clary sage. The tea is present, it’s fresh and soothing along with the ethereal heart of florals. Lots of hedione, a delicate rose, a lemony magnolia and the violet give it a traditional nuance of being fresh, somewhat powdery, and airy. The heart is perfectly blended in to the composition and a perfect transition into the base. The base is loads of Iso-E along with fresh green tobacco, fields of it... not ashy type or pipe tobacco but more characteristic of tea, almost has the feel of a cigar humidor. With a supple suede/leathery ambergris which appears to be natural since I’m not picking up on any ambroxin, the sandalwood is very smooth and works wonderfully with a very subtle tonka, just enough to provide an essence, as opposed to the more common tonka heavy releases. I’m also not picking up on much of the oak moss but maybe others will more than I do, if it is there it’s very well blended in with the rest of the herbs. Every note is tastefully placed, blended and balanced masterfully. This comes off classy and luxurious, yet casual. It’s high quality and unique without wagering any mass appeal or versatility. Performance is outstanding, it’s light and airy, almost like a second skin, projecting a very pleasant, attractive, aromatic scent cloud around the wearer for hours, detectable most of the day. This can be worn any season and could easily be a wonderful signature scent for a man or woman, considering the soft, cloudy aromatic nature of this, it’s perfectly unisex. 9/10

Montobaco Intensivo garnered the strongest reaction to a fragrance I’ve EVER had while I was at a 7/11. I was standing in line behind a woman who was checking out, and another employee opened the register next to where she was being rung up. I walked up to the counter and about 3 seconds pass before the customer lady says to her cashier, “wow something smells good.”, and the cashier responds, “something DOES smell good!”. Then the customer lady turns to me, takes a deep breath, and says, “wow you smell so fu****g good omg! What are you wearing?!”. I thanked them both for the compliment and told them what I was wearing, and in between the questions they had about the fragrance (what is it, how much, who makes it, etc.) they both just kept repeating difference iterations of “you smell amazing!”. I ended up pulling up a picture on my phone to show the lady the bottle, and then thanked them both again, and as I walked toward the back entrance/exit of the store they were still conversing back and forth about how good I smelled. Then the other cashier who rang me up, and was quiet the entire time shouts across the store before I walked out, “YOU REALLY DO SMELL SUUUUUPER GOOD DUDE!”. It was the compliment hat trick. The trifecta! It has been my new favorite fragrance since I first purchased it as a blind buy a few months ago, but I cannot overstate how absolutely phenomenal Ormonde Jayne’s Montobaco Intensivo is. I will admit that when I first sprayed it on, and smelled it, I was disappointed, and thought, “I don’t think this is for me”, but within 10-15 minutes I was absolutely in love with this fragrance lol. I ended up buying a partial from someone as a backup bottle because this juice is incredible. I told a coworker about my 7/11 experience, and he had already purchased a decant of this fragrance from me; he wore it the next day, and texted me that a nurse complimented him on the fragrance as well. Ormonde Jayne knocked it out of the park! A tobacco fragrance that is light, airy, fresh, uplifting, and has some “green” facets that help round it out. Montobaco Intensivo smells great, lasts forever on me, is versatile, and obviously the compliment factor is there.

I like tobacco fragrances, but I tend to think of them as being quite heavy and much more suited to cold weather. When I think of tobacco, I picture an evening at the club, relaxing by the fireside, Armagnac in hand. All very civilised. With Montabaco Intensivo, however, the imagery is different. It opens with a huge blast of unburnt, moist tobacco, but not smooth pipe tobacco or that of cigarettes; this is crisp and fresh. The tobacco note is sharp, leathery, and peppery to me. I imagine that this ozonic freshness comes from the hedione; think Alpine forests, with tobacco infused crystal-clear air whistling down from snow capped peaks. Although the tobacco note dominates the opening, it gradually develops a strong woody accord, and alongside that I get fleeting glimpses of some of the other stated notes. Tea, cardamom, and suede all make an appearance. None of these notes dominate, but they add texture and complexity to the tobacco accord. As the dry-down continues, the scent mellows and sweetens into something akin to antique wooden furniture. It's the ozonic quality of the fragrance that sets this tobacco fragrance apart from others I've tried and makes it wearable in spring and summer. It really is quite beautiful. Bizarrely, there is something in the composition that actually makes my mouth water; I think it is the tea note lurking in the background. UPDATE 15.7.2026: I'm not sure if this fragrance profile has slightly changed since I purchased it or whether my perception of it has developed, but the more I live with it the more I experience tea over tobacco. And that tea note is exceptional. Tested: 1ml decant Seasons / occasions: Unlike other tobacco-forward fragrances I have tried, this works on cooler summer days and evenings. I'd wear it when going out with friends, whether to a good restaurant or on a countryside walk. Key thoughts: Rare, clean, fresh tobacco note. Overall rating: 9.5/10 Buy full bottle: Yes