Ormonde Jayne Montabaco Intensivo

Tobacco fragrances usually go one of two ways, into vanilla or into leather. Montabaco Intensivo does neither. Composed by Geza Schoen for Ormonde Jayne's Four Corners of the Earth collection and launched in 2013, this is the Latin America chapter, sold at the house's Intensivo strength of roughly 42 percent concentrate. It replaced the original Montabaco in the lineup. A Montabaco Intensivo decant in Bangladesh gets you into a high-concentration parfum without a full bottle commitment.

Fragrance Notes

Top: Mountain Air, Orange Oil, Bergamot, Juniper, Cardamom, Clary Sage

Heart: Tea, Hedione, Violet, Rose, Magnolia

Base: Tobacco, Iso E Super, Moss, Suede, Ambergris, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean

The Scent

What makes this unusual is that a tobacco fragrance opens fresh. Orange oil and bergamot arrive with juniper and clary sage in a bright, aromatic top that reviewers repeatedly describe as airy, and the mountain air accord is doing exactly the job its name implies. Cardamom adds a dry spice underneath. The tobacco is dry rather than sweet, and this is the central point about the composition. One reviewer compares its vermouth-like dryness to Miller Harris Feuilles de Tabac, noting the absence of the syrupy dried fruit and cacao that normally accompany the note. Tea in the heart reinforces that dryness, and the florals sit as texture rather than as a bouquet, with violet lending a faintly powdery lift. As it settles, suede and moss arrive together and give it a worn, tactile quality. Powdery amber softens the mealy bitterness of the woods without adding sugar. Iso E Super does what it always does, spreading the whole thing out and making it hum. Comparisons run to Creed Royal Oud for the creamy cedar baritone, with most reviewers finding Montabaco more nuanced and more complex than either reference. Detractors exist and their argument is about money rather than quality: unique, they say, but not enough so at this price. Context on the concentration is useful. Ormonde Jayne sells Montabaco as a parfum at around 38 percent and as Intensivo at around 42 percent, so the difference between them is strength rather than character. Wearers who have smelled both describe Intensivo as slightly brighter and fresher with a more pronounced tobacco note. The original Montabaco has since been discontinued in favour of this one. The line has also grown, with Verano, Rio, Cuba and Aruba each pushing the same tobacco and suede base in a different direction.

When to Wear

Autumn and winter, office days, formal settings and dinners where you want something refined rather than loud. The freshness on top makes it more wearable in daytime than most tobacco fragrances. Sits with our Tobacco collection.

Who Is It For

Someone who finds most tobacco fragrances too sweet or too heavy, and who wants the note handled as a dry material rather than as dessert.

If you want the house's warmer, more resinous side, Ambre Royal is the other Ormonde Jayne we carry and worth comparing. Browse the full Ormonde Jayne collection at Aromatica.

Available as an authentic decant in Bangladesh at Aromatica in 3ml, 5ml, and 9ml.