Oud Rex: Chinese Exclusive – Running Low

Those that knew Ensar from his Oriscent days will highlight a handful of ouds that reshaped the oud world for good. One of those was Chinese Exclusive.

Collectors consistently rank it among the most complex and addictive oud oils ever bottled. Reviews describe it as “mythical,” “primeval,” “warm and instantly wearable,” and “one of the most complicated scents” they’ve experienced. It hits hard on first sniff, then settles into a warm, musky, deeply grounding drydown that oud connoisseurs consider transcendent. 

This distillation is its successor that carries on its name and soul: a raw, unapologetic sinensis profile for those who appreciate the musky, animalic depth of true Chinese agarwood. 

Oud, not for the Maharaja or the Sultan, but for the Crown. A decadent potion brewed from fermented grapes marinated in potent tobacco leaves. A ravishing motley of rose de mai and cacao and clove for a dainty glacé born from that oak barrel lined with the sweet earthy scent of dried tobacco stuffed with lactating grape serum as you stir black pepper and black tea into the thick brew before dunking in the oud, the oud, the oud!

Chinese Exclusive’s zesty sinensis swagger whose ancestral roots go back to old cauldrons sans all the tech tweaks that propel modern distillation, with nothing but mega resin inside. Its bittersweet orange-peel flash that slides into wet earth, mossy timber, and full-bodied animalic depth. Its humid, pheromonal bite locks perfectly into the leather-tobacco frame, amplifying the perfume’s darker gravitational pull.

A primal, pheromonal aroma meant to amplify the skin’s natural scent rather than hide it.

Old-school oud that gives you leathery chords brimming with notes of tobacco, hay, and subtle citrus, all with an animalic bite. In other words, oud destined to one day go into our gift to the king, Oud Rex.

And I’m not just flaunting the heritage of Chinese Exclusive here. This edition comes decked out with 3 grams of Chinese Exclusive per 30ml (that’s 5 grams per 50ml and 10 grams per 100ml!).

This not only pushes up the overall concentration to over 41%, but injects the profile with an even oudier aroma. Flowing into Tonkin musk, Hojari frankincense, rather than adhering to a typical oriental profile, Oud Rex embraces the sophistication of French perfumery while channeling the untamed creativity of an audacious oud connoisseur.

A scent the perfume-obsessed Louis le Grand would have become infatuated with – but couldn’t dream of smelling. Tripura gaharu infused with Tonkin musk, Malaysian and Myanmar agarwood that would continue to touch the sky for centuries before anyone learned of their hideout. That gnarly, aged sinensis oud bomb drenched in Hojari frankincense. All smells a king of old would have killed to acquire, but never knew they could.

Instead of composing an oud perfume I would feel confident presenting to the Sultan (Oud SQ), Oud Rex ditches your typical oriental facets and embraces the Western-French tradition to create an oud perfume fit for a European monarch…

… filtered through a non-conformist Oudhead’s abandon and style.

I feel a scent pyramid doesn’t do anyone any favors – its simplicity cannot capture the intricacy of Oud Rex, which contains ~70+ ingredients that bathe together in a super-ornate composition that wafts in layers that demand to be explored – you’ll discover different facets under the sun compared to a stroll under moonlight. 

Oak and bourbon vanilla will come out more in cooler autumn nights, while diffusive wafts of aged ruh gulab carry notes of pear and sweet civet on a clear blue sky. But even if you think you pick up individual notes, you’d find them having emerged from a pool of purple tigerwood while Chinese Exclusive’s incense entangles everything. 

There’s nothing ‘lite’ or masstige about Oud Rex. Too much oud that’s too good, right down to the carrier (which contains raw wild Borneo Kinam oud resin and precious Borneo oud hydrosol we personally flew into the atelier) is okay by me. And I’m sure His Majesty would love nothing more, either.