See Prices

More

We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.

The Library Collection

Opus XIV - Royal Tobacco Amouage 2022

8.1 / 10 763 Ratings

A popular perfume by Amouage for women and men, released in 2022. The scent is smoky-spicy. Projection and longevity are above-average. It is being marketed by Sabco Group / Oman Perfumery.
Pronunciation Compare

More

We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.

Main accords

Smoky

Spicy

Resinous

Oriental

Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Aniseed

Cardamom

Elemi resin

Frankincense oil Basil

Basil

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Liquorice root

Tobacco absolute

Bulgarian rose

Fenugreek

Lavender

Orange blossom

Osmanthus absolute Prunol

Prunol

Base Notes

Frankincense Myrrh

Myrrh

Assam oud

Benzoin

Birch tar

Bourbon vanilla

Gaiac wood

Labdanum

Musk

Peru balsam

Tonka bean Vetiver

Vetiver

Perfumer

Cécile Zarokian

Videos

Watch video

Ratings

Scent

8.1763 Ratings

Longevity

9.0682 Ratings

Sillage

8.6680 Ratings

Bottle

8.9648 Ratings

Value for money

6.8561 Ratings

Submitted by Sniffer · last update on 02/05/2026.

Source-backed & verified

Interesting Facts

This fragrance was awarded the "Indie Fragrance of the Year" prize by the Fragrance Foundation in 2023.

The fragrance is part of the The Library Collection collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Oud Zarian

Opus Magnum

Opus XVI - Timber

Arion

Tobacco of the Royals 14

Regal Reserve

Reviews

48 in-depth fragrance descriptions

10/13/2025

8Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

Merlotsupern
115 Reviews

Merlotsupern

Top Review 12

Cécile's Candy Kingdom

Royal Tobacco is a curious entry in the Library Collection: an aromatic, resinous fragrance that leans more toward licorice than its name suggests. Composed by Cécile Zarokian, it opens with a green, spicy burst of cardamom, anise, elemi, and basil, quickly revealing a dominant licorice root note that persists throughout the wear. While tobacco absolute is listed among the heart notes, current batches seem to downplay its presence, offering instead a sweet, herbal interpretation that feels more like a nod to the idea of tobacco than a full-bodied execution.

This shift isn’t necessarily a drawback, at least for those who are not paroxysmally fixated. In fact, the licorice is quite vivid and playful. Despite that, the drydown is rich, with frankincense, birch tar, and assam oud lending a degree of complexity. Vanilla and benzoin soften the edges, creating a warm, enduring resinous base (common to a few other works from Cécile) with good projection and excellent longevity - 12h+ on skin.

The 14th entry in the Opus line is not quite in Amouage's platinum tier, but it’s a very good scent: wearable, and distinctive.
For those who appreciate herbal sweetness and resinous depth, this is still a worthy addition to the collection, especially when available at discounters.

11/17/2024

7.5Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

CivetOnly
37 Reviews

CivetOnly

Top Review 9

Opus XIV - Royal Liquorice

I can't call this scent the king of tobacco; it's the queen of licorice. G used to be a bit smokier, presumably due to higher concentrations of incense and tobacco. I've tried H batch and well, let's just say it's a different beast.

Current formulation dials down frankincense, allowing the prominent spices like anise and fenugreek to take over and blend with sugary licorice. After a while, I start getting whiffs of tobacco and the sillage is green, spicy and a bit herbal. However, the scent profile is quickly dominated by the sweet licorice.

Thankfully, the drydown stays true to Amouage's origins. I get some woodiness, honey-like myrrh and a creamy, vanillic undertone of benzoin. There's a smooth, smoky and leathery nuance, I'm assuming that's birch tar and labdanum at play.

While tobacco slowly disappears throughout the drydown, licorice is amped up to the point where it lasts forever, making Royal Tobacco mass-appealing. Performance is still amazing! Usually, I get at least 10 hours on skin and 4 hours of loud projection.

So, if you're expecting a tobacco-based scent, you'll be disappointed. To experience Cécile's award-winning blend, look for G batch. The current version is about anise and licorice, with resins and tobacco playing supporting roles. It's OK, but doesn't live up to its name.

Updated on 10/19/2025

12/05/2024

9.5Scent 10Longevity 9Sillage

Smirky
512 Reviews

Smirky

Helpful Review 6

Awesome scent but needs more tobacco

This one is really good. Royal Tobacco starts off with a resinous, sweet opening. The tobacco and licorice appear a bit later with the sweetness diminishing a little. Overall, there is no bite or sharpness to the scent. It came across as very smooth - almost creamy. With so many notes plus the kitchen sink thrown in, I didn't get any standing out as such, outside of the tobacco and licorice. I'm assuming that means it's blended well. Sorta like a smooth resinous/woody tobacco licorice with a bit of sweetness. Very masculine fragrance; no way is this unisex.

Royal Tobacco is a performance powerhouse. Very good longevity - I got over 12 hours out of it. Leaves a strong trail for the first few hours with very good projection creating a large scent bubble.

Although I like the scent and have added it to my shopping list, I am somewhat disappointed that the tobacco note wasn't more prominent. Still on the search for a perfect tobacco fragrance for myself.

01/01/2026

7.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

StinkSultan
75 Reviews

StinkSultan

Helpful Review 5

Royal Deception

It looks exciting, doesn't it? One glance at the notes pyramid and interest spikes. Opus XIV - Royal Tobacco should, in theory, be right up my alley with its multitude of notes and the focal point being tobacco. I mean, tobacco is the main protagonist here, right? Well, only in theory. In reality, what you get with Cécile's creation here is closer to a 'Royal Liquorice' or, if we take a more critical view, 'Royal Deception'. How so?

Well, first of all, the notes pyramid here is not terribly helpful as reference. It mostly fuels your initial impression of "complexity", bringing in plenty of interest alongside. And for the most part, it is a pretty complex fragrance, but it also feels like it's trying too hard to be perceived as complex rather than reading first and foremost as a tobacco fragrance, which it fails to do.

As soon as you spray, you are met with a blast driven by spices, particularly aromatic Aniseed and warm cardamom with clear citric facets which are only brightened up by the Elemi resin. Some balsamic undertones are present too, as well as some herbaceous complexity with a variety of aromatic qualities - mint, pepper, even clove. The frankincense adds very soft smoky touches, but primarily a spicy/aromatic structure with balsamic undertones is what you get in the opening.

It's all soon covered in liquorice sweetness, however, with a very distinct aroma. It's got a slight earthiness to it, and it also reminds me of maple a nudge, but mainly it's sweetness which won't be to everyone's liking. By now, a headache shouldn't surprise you; it can easily get overwhelming. The rest of the heart notes take a step back and just offer backend support at best, with the fenugreek further aiding in the sweet aspects of the scent, while the floral notes around are barely detectable. At best I get a little of that herbal lavender and faint fruity nuances from the prunol, but no orange blossom, no osmanthus, and no rose. But what about the tobacco? This is called "Royal Tobacco" in the end. Well, it is there, but it's nowhere near the center of the stage where it should be. It brings a dried hay-like aroma, warm and sweet, but it fails to stand out for the liquorice overpowers it.

The base, however, kept my hopes up for a grand finale, a change of scene, something to bring that sweetness back in check. That doesn't happen; the base is arguably the most disappointing part of Opus XIV - Royal Tobacco. It is mostly an amber-driven base with vanillic touches, mild charred wood, and tame balsamic-resinous notes. Soft smokiness tags along too, but you can be certain there is no oud here. Just a rather disappointing base which doesn't hit nearly as hard as it should and it is covered in amber, balsam and liquorice sweetness. And so you probably can see why I'm left wanting more. Not more sweetness or liquorice, absolutely not. Those are arguably what ruin it for me. But more tobacco and better integration of the notes, not just a lot of ingredients thrown in the pot just to be overpowered by a few singular notes. The overall quality of the blend and materials is great, no doubt about it, but it's kind of hard to appreciate it as a whole when you're not given enough room for it.

Speaking of room, you might not want to wear Opus XIV - Royal Tobacco in crowded rooms, as this can easily be overwhelming not just for you but for anyone around you. For me, it's not the case. Either the skin chemistry is acting up or I've got a weaker sample, but performance on me never really reached a level where I genuinely got lightheaded. Still, it showed pretty good endurance on my skin with around 8-9 hours, while in terms of projection it was consistent, pushing over 2 feet for the first hour, then mildly settling down across the next 3-4 hours. Even after 4 hours I could very vaguely catch a whiff of it here and there. So as far as I'm concerned, Opus XIV - Royal Tobacco doesn't overwhelm me.

Given that, I also found it a bit easier to wear. Sure, it's still not a very versatile option, but for special events, particularly outdoor events during the colder weather, this could do it just fine. Definitely not a scent you'd wear to the office or school.

Still, I'm disappointed. Opus XIV - Royal Tobacco not only failed to meet the expectations, but it also fooled me by making me think that I would get a complex tobacco masterpiece with it. It is complex, but just for the sake of it. It has tobacco, but only for a brief period during the wearing and it doesn't even take center stage. And it's quite sweet overall, which for me it doesn't win extra points. Hence, Opus XIV - Royal Tobacco is not a fragrance that you should consider if you're after that ultimate tobacco blend. It is definitely worth a try, regardless of what you're after, but just don't expect to be met with a lit up dry aged Cuban cigar - leave those expectations back at home.

Overall Rating: 6.9/10

Updated on 01/01/2026

02/03/2025

10Scent 9Longevity 9Sillage

Majid114
143 Reviews

Majid114

4

ROYAL TOBACCO

Opus XIV - Royal Tobacco from Arab Niche Haute Luxury Perfumery Amouage of the Sultanate of Oman is an Oriental Aromatic Amber Incense Tobacco Smoky Balsamic perfume. This fragrance was launched in 2022 and the perfumer who signs this fragrance is Cécile Zarokian.

In Royal Tobacco I already feel at the opening a sweet amber characteristic of the House and super smoky by the duet of incense and tobacco both the central inspiration of the fragrance and excellent quality, and already follows mixing the fine green spices with emphasis on an enveloping accord of liquorice with nuance of anise, the output is delicious.

Heading towards the center of the composition it begins to acquire a contrasting aspect: aromatic fresh and warm hojari frankincense at the same time; that even with the presence of a discreet floral bouquet that is very light although lavender is felt, but without being protagonist in any moment; the highlights of this composition are other ingredients.

Towards the base more smoky resins come as the famous 'oud of 'Assam sweet, fumed and animalic, the birch and more incense, the myrrh here brings a brief reminder of the overture and the vanilla accord with tonka reinforces the oriental amber facet signature of Amouage. A slightly woody background of musk finish this work of art of Perfumery; with an original and even innovative interpretation in a fragrance with tobacco in recent years.

This multifaceted perfume evolves quite in distinct phases and nuances, has a lot going on inside it is not only about tobacco and incense, it is complex without being chaotic and much less unbalanced, and in the drying at dusk of the fragrance is that resinous aspect of smoked woods counterbalancing the delicious aroma of a thin leaf of tobacco very soft and delicious for lovers of chords attuned to perfumes.

Spectacular Complex and Super Elegant Delicious Perfume!
It is undoubtedly one of the best if not the best tobacco fragrance I have ever felt.
Great Performance!
Creating the height of excellence of the best tobacco and incense in the world.
Another Masterpiece by Cécile Zarokian.
Must-have for lovers of tobacco perfumes!
Amouage Being Amouage!

More reviews