Thai Tabac: Ambra Royale

Did you know EO1 is in its heart of hearts a Tabac parfum?

Not something you’d immediately call tobacco. But as you follow it closely past the polished leather, past the structure, you’d find it there. Quiet. Warm. And yes, slightly dangerous.

And now imagine taking that thread… and pulling it all the way out.

What happens when you take out all restraints and stop holding it back?

Tobacco is one of those notes that perfumery rarely lets stand on its own. It gets dressed up. Brightened, sweetened and smoothed over so it doesn’t come across too heavy, too intimate, too real. Because real tobacco isn’t easy. Its density causes it to hang and linger in the air. It doesn’t project in that loud, room-filling way mainstream frags peddle as the norm. It stays closer. Warmer. And if you’re not careful, it can completely take over a composition. So most perfumes keep it on a leash.

This one doesn’t.

Thai Tabac is what happens when you let tobacco breathe the way it’s meant to. No citrus on top. No sharp little tricks to “balance” things out. No attempt to make it behave. Just leaf… heat… and time.

And now there’s the oud.

Not a polite oud. Not something sitting quietly in the base to give structure. But Oud Khidr. Vintage Indian Oud that pulls you in with its own gravity.

If you’ve ever smelled old Hindi oils, you’ll know what I mean. There’s a certain feral edge to them. Raw, slightly animalic. And addictive in a way that makes your primal self feel alive.

Now imagine that running straight through a tobacco profile. Not layered on top of it. Not blended into it. But fused into it with vintage Ambergris.

A piece that has lived a life of its own, likely drifting in open water potentially for decades, turned over by currents, exposed to salt, sun, and pressure until it became something entirely singular. No two pieces of ambergris are ever the same. The ocean writes its own formula each time, and if you’ve spent enough time with it, you start to recognize those quiet signatures: the imprint of warmer waters, the mineral traces of the sea, the slow, natural curing that can’t be replicated. This particular piece carries that kind of fingerprint, and what makes it even more unusual is where it ended up. Held quietly in the Sultan’s archives, untouched, allowed to mature on its own terms. Time doesn’t just soften ambergris, it completes it; and what begins as something sharp and uneven settles into a material that no longer needs shaping.

The ambergris adds additional texture to the composition, an almost carbonated sparkle that lifts the tobacco just enough so it doesn’t sit flat. It stretches the oud so it doesn’t close in on itself and gives the whole composition space to celebrate… without ever making it feel light.

There’s a moment, right after you apply it, where you catch that familiar tobacco warmth.

And then it shifts. The sharpness you might expect never comes. That burnt, ashy edge that ruins so many tobacco perfumes… it simply isn’t there.

Instead, it softens…but not into sweetness.

More like:

Toffee that isn’t sugary.
Cream that doesn’t turn milky.
A kind of honeyed warmth that feels aged rather than cooked.

And underneath it, something dry… almost arcane… like cured leaves and old wood.

Give it a minute, and the structure starts to show itself.

Vetiver—quiet, grounding.
Hay—sun-warmed, slightly rough around the edges.
Juniper—just enough to cool things down.
Vintage Indian Oud—aged, deep, and completely integrated.
Heirloom Ambergris—elevating the composition to new heights.

Nothing sticks out. Nothing asks for attention.

It just… settles.

It’s a strange thing to describe, because it doesn’t behave the way most fragrances do.

You don’t get a bright opening followed by a clear drydown.

You get something that feels already complete… and then slowly reveals how deep it actually goes.

I keep coming back to the same thought with this one:

This is probably what tobacco would have smelled like in perfumery… before designers neutered it to fit expectations.

From late nights in places you don’t quite remember… to long drives where the road seems to stretch forever…to those quiet moments where everything slows down just enough. This is that kind of scent.

And the more you wear it, the more you realize: this was never meant to be a “tobacco fragrance.”

It’s just pure tobacco… through oud and ambergris.

 

Featured Testimonials From Previous Edition…

“This is probably the most sophisticated fragrance released by Ensar Oud, if you are bored of typically citrusy opening fragrance, you will be glad. As highly narcotic and addicted Thai tabac opens with tobacco floral combo luckily, I got 2.5gr of champaca from Ensar and I think I got lot of champaca and a hint of jasmine along with the green tobacco.

I can get some hint of patchouli and leather also in the opening.

After few minutes like 10-15mins tobacco became more prominent I think presence of hay and vetiver elevates the tobacco here, though it’s very green. In the middle I was surprised by the presence of honey and vanilla along with the leather.

Things get very interesting at this point a sweet gourmet meal where you have some herbal to eat, and the air is filled with green tobacco smoke!

However, unlike other Ensar like NO1, Santal Sultan and Black Chango etc. it has limitation in longevity, 8-9 hours and it projects more than 4 hours in my skin. But its extreme complexity blown my mind off, this is like magic spell.

This is probably a billionaire’s scent, and I am lucky to have it in my collection. I was not a big fan of tobacco-based fragrance but after having couple of wear of Thai Tabac now I am kind of obsessed.
Interesting part is every time I wear Thai Tabac I can detect something new in it, That’s probably the Ensar style.”

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Thai Tabac is very citrusy in the opening which turns quickly after minutes into a gorgeous tobacco leaves scent… not a burning cigar to me but rather wet tobacco leaves ! Amazing. It is so yummy it actually makes me want to drink it! Thai Tabac is another world. Finger licken good. – Nordine, France

I ordered the EDP discovery set in September. My fiancé and I have decided to select Thai Tabac for my fragrance in our wedding in June 2021. Keep up the great work, thank you. – Arthur, USA

I received my Thai Tabac today and I’ve got to say it’s the best opening I’ve experienced in perfumery point blank. – Junior, Canada

My girlfriend was crazy about the Thai Tabac perfume. I let her smell the attar version that I have to compare. We both noticed that the oil version is much more of a cool weather scent vs the perfume version which can be worn in warmer weather conditions. We both enjoyed the orange blossom at the top. Just like all of Ensar’s other fragrances, it’s blended to perfection. – TJ, US

I was very happy to get the bottles of this new batch of Thai Tabac. This is such an uplifting beautiful fragrance, I can put a few drops on my wrist in the morning and it will make me happy for the whole day. There is beautiful luxurious floral softness in there, but also firmness and almost austerity. It is pure delight for the senses.  I think the new batch is even more refined than the previous one! – Elina, US

I applied the sample provided by Ensar Oud and can say that this is a very complex oil. Upon application I could instantly smell Vetiver, Leather, Beetle leaf, and Hay in one hit… This is sweet and floral, and for someone who did not know that this only has leaves, even the best of noses couldn’t guess it correctly. – Rehan, Australia

I love the rose, tobacco, juniper, and leather in Thai Tabac. The whole thing feels like what a flower shop next to a tannery might smell like. – Richard, USA

Thai Tabac is probably my favorite to wear because I’m really intrigued how on the applicator it’s a very dark tobacco and woody accord, but on my skin is does a full 180 and it’s a very soft scent where I primarily experience sweet rose as a high note, soft woody/oud med note, and a leathery tobacco base. It’s really a scent I’d love to experience if a woman wore it, but it probably wouldn’t develop the same way because everyone has different body chemistry. – J. Benjamin, USA

In the 70s, my mother used to hold mahjong parties at home with all the embassy ladies. The air in the room was thick with a mixture of gitanes, cigarette smoke, mixtures of the real Shalimar scents of old, Fidji by Guy Laroche, and wafts of black coffee mixed with the leather of handcrafted Italian handbags. – Mostafa, USA

Another wonderful perfume. For me, it is a hypnotic fragrance with pure dark tobacco with narcotic flowers. – Vincenzo, Italy

My favorite perfume is Thai Tabac. Love it, insanely good. Genius. – Brian, USA

I’m not sure how I feel here. In my haste and enthusiasm, of course I’ve tried a little bit of everything, and I’m more taken by both the straight ouds. There’s a sweet jasmine or tuberose top note that’s almost too sweet for me. This is the first oudh parfum that I’ve smelt from you guys and I find the oud base very interesting. I’ve been using attar for a long time now, and dabble a bit in creating my own now and then but Ive never used oud as a base, usually sandalwood. The oudh lends an interesting tone. Interesting take on tobacco. – Jair, Australia

This morning, I left my bed with a lot of joy and energy. And, while I was preparing myself, I clearly felt that my body was ‘calling’ a specific scent to complete this pretty good morning feeling. I went from bottle to bottle, sample to sample, and it was *clear* that it wasn’t any of them, until I smelled Thai Tabac. This is it ! The perfect scent of this perfect day! I am so happy with it on me now! It is really a perfect harmony between my feeling, my state of mind, my body vitality, and the scent itself. I need it! I hope enough bottles remain so I can buy it in the coming months. – Antonin, France

I am writing to you with a complaint, a good complaint – Thai Tabac. I thought the tobacco would put me off, I assumed the vanilla/sweet notes would put me off… Nope. It’s an unbelievable perfume. Balanced, enigmatic, masculine yet open, sensual yet strong, consistent yet spontaneous. It may indeed be my new favourite perfume – you said so facetiously (as is the case with most things you say) that I’d like it more than the Kalbar, but in fact little did you know, you would be right. – Zayn, UK

I have learned through exposure to other oud oils, that the first impression of the perfume is rarely the lasting one. Thai Tabac’s wet-out-of-the-bottle scent was strong. Definitely a leather presence, but also a hint of ruh khus, perhaps a trace of patchouli? No… on second thought this is simply the khus… clean, assertive, a little strong.

Twenty minutes later, I took a tentative sniff. Magical things were happening. I thought perhaps I detected a little vanilla, or some deer’s tongue and oak moss. There was a subtle sweetness that had nothing to do with the oud, that made me sniff my wrist over and over again. It reminded me of the opening hook for Brubek’s ‘Take Five’… sweet, sensual, and bright.

It kept coming, kept developing, a soft, comfortable feel to it, like your favorite old pair of jeans, the ones you shouldn’t wear in public, but you can’t bring yourself to throw away because they feel so nice, when you’re in them. Something slightly musky, a hint of…citrus? Maybe yuzu, and a little lavender? Skin does funny things to perfume. Body chemistry and the perfume come together to make something unique. There’s something gently golden in Thai Tabac, like that ‘magic hour’ just before sunset, when the light can make anything beautiful. It only makes me determined to enjoy what I have. And hope very sincerely, that Ensar will re-release it, in time. – Nicole, FL

Thai Tabac is a very good mukhallat! For me, it has notes of tobacco spiced up with orange peel, some oud – and do I smell some ambergris in it too? It is vey complex, has a wonderful drydown, and reminds me of autumn days and my favorite leather jacket worn while watching a children’s kite sail aloft in the gentle autumn breeze. The scents of fresh harvest and leaves turning to red-golden. Just magnificent! Can’t wait until my full bottle arrives. – Thomas S, Germany

I like this oil particularly because it is so different than traditional mukhallats. It’s green, but not in an aloof way – green as in ‘fresh’ and ‘young’ and ‘ibrant’. Unlike other ‘green’ notes there’s nothing herbaceous or chlorophyll-y. It’s more like the green of Granny Smith apples and buds that haven’t yet unfolded their faces to the sun. There’s a delicacy that intermingles with sweet spiciness – like a very young woman wearing her first ‘grown-up’ dress and wants to show it off (she knows she looks ravishing) but who feels painfully shy and self-conscious before presenting herself to her young man. It is both cool and shining at the same time. It makes me think of bells ringing from a tower whose steeple is in the clouds. I love the crystalline feeling of this perfume, Ensar! It makes me feel hopeful – that a shining light is looking down at us and will lead the way to a better future. – Isabella Lee, NY

Wow! This is my favorite parfum. Tabac opens loud and strong with a spicy note that is very musky to my nose. Sandalwood lurks behind it, and in another moment they fuse to a powderiness that is amazing. A few sniffs later there is a sweetness, perhaps a floral is in here. Tabac is French for ‘tobacco’, and that would be the perfect summary of this parfum. A sweet and nicely aged cigar, hints of powdery vanilla. It really perfectly captures the scent of fine sweet tobacco. A perfect male perfume. – Neeshee, Hawaii

I just put on some swipes of Thai Tabac and it’s very nice. Deep, warm, masculine and dignified, notes of roots, leather, woods and vanilla. I’ve never tried tobacco in a parfum before but it’s very nice, and it doesn’t smell like cigarettes at all. This is something I could wear at special occasions, like Christmas, New Year’s Eve, or in a wedding. – Lars, Norway

Thai Tabac is great. Reminds me of a gentleman’s fine pipe tobacco. Very fresh. Refined. Elegant. I intend on wearing Thai Tabac to my next evening at the symphony. – Dan, NJ

Thai Tabac, there has to be Kewda in it… cedar perhaps? Kewda is one of my all-time favorites. Whatever is in the mix, it is so similar to the best Indian incense I’ve ever tried. – Andrej, Croatia

Today I received Thai Tabac and Borneo Zen. They are very, very BEAUTIFUL mukhallats! I mean the quality of the parfums by Ensar is on a par with the Ouds! – Alan, Brazil

I like the freshness of Thai Tabac. It is a very relaxing oil! – Dondre, Canada

Thai Tabac, your best ever perfume. Don’t discontinue. Makes the ladies go crazy, especially when combined with the native smell of white skin. Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck indeed. – Ahmed, UK

Bonjour, J’ai reçu le parfum alors il est super bon et de grande qualité merci! Je suis aussi très content du service…Merci. – Mottura, Switzerland