Oud in Calvados Scents of Wood 2022

The opening is the hook. There’s a clear apple-brandy tone right away — warm, slightly sweet, and immediately inviting. It feels rich without being sticky, and the oud underneath stays smooth rather than animalic.

As it settles, the sweetness remains present. The composition never turns sharp, but it does lean gourmand-adjacent longer than I’d like. The oud plays a supporting role rather than driving the structure. It’s very pleasant. The blend is polished.

But when I want boozy warmth, I prefer something drier and more architectural. This one stays softer and sweeter. This is just a little indulgent for me.

I had never heard of calvados before trying this fragrance - it is an apple brandy made in France, similar to applejack. Oud in Calvados is a gorgeous interpretation of this beverage, along with the woody notes of the cask it is aged in. A note I don't perceive at all is oud, though - the woody notes remind me more of the patchouli/cedar drydown of "Straight to Heaven White Cristal (Perfume) | Kilian". I think a more appropriate name for this fragrance would have been "Calvados in Calvados" since the scent contains a prominent apple brandy note, and it is aged in the calvados cask.

As for the scent itself, it opens sweet with a cinnamon-y boozy apple, which leads straight into the woody drydown without really any heart notes; the cocoa and rose notes are not really perceptible. The wood almost has a smoky feel to it, giving it a warm, cozy vibe. This base prevents the sweet notes from being overwhelming - the end result is a well-balanced scent where the calvados and its cask both shine.

Oud In Calvados is a really great boozy fruity scent. The sweet boozy apples are the main star here, but it’s also woody and spicy as well. It is kind a reminding me a bit of Plum In Cognac, same type of delicious fruity booziness, but they are completely different.

It’s not alcoholic or synthetic and it’s a quite powerful fragrances, perfectly unisex.

On skin this last almost the entire day and the sillage it leaves is breathtaking. It projects quite nicely for a few hours, before it sets closer to the skin.

Definitely worth trying if you like this type of scents…

Scents of Wood Oud in Calvados is one of the several fragrances from this house that I really clicked with when sniffing them during my most recent trip to Perfumology in Philadelphia. As its name suggest, the house has lots of woody scents, and to my nose, almost all of the ones that I’ve smelled are very pleasant, with some being especially interesting, and Oud in Calvados is very interesting. Aptly name, it features a mix of oud with the French apple brandy, Calvados, and it smells just like a boozy, spicy apple scent with oud. I’m sure many are familiar with By Kilian Apple Brandy, which Oud in Calvados is close to, but less spicy and sweet than, with the oud not a part of Apple Brandy but a fairly prominent, even if neither animalic nor medicinal, component of Oud in Calvados. It’s a really great fragrance, fitting for cooler weather. Cozy, class, and sweet, but not quite to the point of being a gourmand—again, given the presence of oud—and it performs well.

Oud in Calvados is priced at $240/38 for 75/10ml, sold by great boutiques like Perfumology, and spray samples are sold on the Perfumology website as well.

8 out of 10