Tabac by AbdesSalaam Attar Profumo

I was very surprised to read JBHorens review, especially his experience of it as being like newly mown grass. There is almost nothing green in this for me. My experience of Tabac is very much in tune with the other reviews so far; I too have fallen under the spell of this warm, heady fragrance. It is so complex and well blended that Im not sure which elements are tobacco and which are other things entirely. As others have already done a fine job describing things, Ill add only some brief comments. For me, the fragrance is in part a cross between a Padron maduro anniversario cigar - dark, rich, sweet (but not overly sweet), fermented or pressure-cured tobacco, with accents of cocoa and hazelnut - and Turkish tobacco - sun cured leaf from N. Africa, Turkey or Greece, with spice and a little dryness/light hay-ness. There are also hints of dried fruit (prunes mostly, I think), tea (or is it bergamot orange?), something rose-moss like and even the faintest, merest whisper of butter cooked mushrooms. (I have never had labdanum pointed out to me as a smell but wonder if the earthiness of the rose/moss/mushroom is labdanum?) With the more noticeable but still beautifully balanced softness of tonka and vanilla, Im in heaven. This will definitely be a regular frag for me.

Slightly worried about what would happen if he fell under a bus (does he have his recipes written down - does he have an apprentice?!) and I cant wait to try some of his other fragrances.

A deliciously comfortable masculine (cf. Luca Turin) is a brilliant encapsulation of this fantastic fragrance. You might look at this description in the following way: deliciously referring to the slightly gourmandish aspects of the fragrance most obviously gingerbread-like (as with Feuilles de Tabac which Tabac, in my view, comfortably outclasses), although sometimes I seem to catch a faint whiff of something a bit like cocoa in the top notes. Comfortable sometimes it reminds me of putting on a favourite old jumper (Tabac works well in winter, Ive yet to try it in warmer weather), and there is definitely a strongly comforting aspect to the fragrance (perhaps this is partly because I used to be a smoker), although Tabac wouldnt be at all out of place at a black-tie event. Masculine I would say the fragrance is most obviously masculine, though I think a daring woman could pull it off.

There is a kind of sense of depth and density the fragrance has to it this is perhaps due to the complex blending of a large number of natural ingredients which I find very appealing.

All in all, one my personal favourites from the La Via del Profumo line, and, I think, a definite must-sample for anyone looking for a truly high-quality tobacco fragrance.

Tabac

Starts with a slightly boozy blast of tobacco, like an islay malt, smokey and resinous with echoes of hay. For a short while the tobacco remains centre and top until it settles down and it drops into a strong structure with the warm tobacco at the low register, some lovely fluid labdanum, sweet tonka and beautiful vanilla sitting in layers. There is clary sage too, seamlessly integrated as flavouring. The drydown is absolutely my favourite tobacco accord of all time. The balance is wonderful, the tobacco is present but not too sharp or musty, not sour and thin or thick and overwhelming but with body and lightness at the same time. The other notes are carefully built around to pull out aspects of its complex smell.

This has instantly become my favourite tobacco scent and one of my favourite perfumes of all. If you like tobacco at all, you must try this.

While the opening is quite masculine, I think the drydown is very wearable by a woman who likes tobacco.

I am not sure if it is the natural materials, the composition or both, but there is something in these profumo perfumes which gives me the impression of 3D, its almost like I can see the layers of the structure, distinct but in balance and with clear air between them.