Zielperson

You need: 500 g pork, onions, 1 head of red cabbage, 300 g starchy potatoes.

The pork is seared sharply, the diced onions are briefly sautéed, then everything is deglazed with water and simmered gently for 2 hours with salt, pepper, allspice, cloves, and a bay leaf. Then thicken with starch, stir in half a cup of sour cream to create a creamy sauce.
The red cabbage is sliced into thin strips the night before and marinated in a mixture of red wine, apple cider vinegar, apples, onion, clove, cinnamon, bay leaf, salt, and sugar, allowing it to steep overnight. Cook the cabbage along with the marinade for 1 hour until soft and add a pinch of starch to give it shine, stirring in a spoonful of lard.
Peel the potatoes and boil them in salted water until soft.

A classic dish for lunch is ready. The table fills with hungry diners, the food is served, and everyone is wished a good appetite.

While eating, the kitchen is praised, it tastes good, and one feels pleasantly full.

But something is off. What is it? Try again, hhmmmh, strange. Is something missing? Salt, sugar? No. HHmmmh. Everything is considered. What stands out so much? It’s in the red cabbage and in the sauce! Suddenly it clicks: everything tastes like clove!

Friends, that’s how I felt with Amber Oud Tobacco. Everything is nice, starting with a bold cinnamon opening, then fine tonka-vanilla with a hint of incense, all carried by the sweet-spicy tobacco. Delicious! Longevity easily a 12; gigantic! BUT: this clove keeps blasting through. One really has to concentrate to briefly focus on the well-crafted blend behind it. It’s such a shame. Why do that? If just one instrument in an orchestra is out of tune, you constantly hear it, no matter how harmoniously all the others play. Thus, unfortunately, TF Tobacco Vanille is not on par in my opinion, as that one has harmony. Nevertheless, it’s not bad in principle, especially for lovers of clove in a winter mood.

One can best understand Naxos and its complexity by first taking a little excursion to Mugler Pure Havane:

The Mugler has a completely rounded overall impression. Its scent progression is similarly structured: a perfect sphere rolling down a glass plate. Nothing bounces, nothing jumps, nothing rattles. You get a mild vanilla, golden meadow honey resting on a semi-dry light tobacco leaf, which in turn radiates a mild-spicy (not herbal, not plant-juicy) aroma. The whole thing is wrapped in a covered honeycomb of beeswax, filtering out the very fine, herbaceous plant notes that are inevitably collected when gathering pollen. Any potentially sticky sweetness disappears through this neutral wax filter: only a hint of minimal caramel maltiness reaches the nose, supported by a dusting of cocoa. That’s it. No floral, smoky, leathery notes. No powder.

Now, you can initially imagine the Xerjoff Naxos in a similar way. However, it doesn’t stop there! An earthy, peaty scent accord joins in. Every now and then, one thinks they can sniff out delicate leather of the softest luxury quality. Or even a hint of pine resin or young pine needles. This peatiness significantly weakens the vanilla. Thus, the Xerjoff is noticeably more complex.

Is more complexity better? If offered, one would gladly take both scents, for sure! The Mugler evokes the association of a meadow honey-tobacco mélange wrapped in a delicate beeswax honeycomb. You smell exactly this honeycomb structure. The Xerjoff, on the other hand, develops the theme further. One associates it with a wild bee, just packed with forest honey, flying over a misty peat area back home to the hive to deliver the precious cargo. You could say you are smelling the flying insect, which also carries the scent impressions of the "workplace of nature." Thus, the olfactory impression is larger, but also somehow pricklier in association. It’s wilder, somehow sharper, more excited. With Naxos, the Mugler honey has the natural surroundings, one might almost say: the natural chaos on top, as an addition, so to speak. The depicted scent space is larger with Xerjoff-indeed more complex. Its overall concept is broader. The Mugler is the extracted result, simply the end of the chain. The Xerjoff is additionally the documented creation. Moreover, Naxos' top note is much richer. The top note of Xerjoff is indeed leagues better!

Due to the difficult availability of the Mugler in autumn 2021, the Xerjoff has a significant advantage from this perspective. Both scents are great. Scent twins? No! Same scent family? Yes! I once read somewhere: those who love the Mugler will worship the Xerjoff. This is true, as the Xerjoff tells the whole story, thus being more complete because it is higher resolution. It narrates more creation. Whether this added value smells better can only be revealed by a personal sniff test. Purity in the sense of clarity is, as mentioned, the Pure Havane.

It is extremely unfortunate that Pure Havane has been discontinued - that much is clear from the start. Because currently, there is no other fragrance that captures the core theme of "honey" in a masculine scent better. This pleasing fragrance is completely rounded in its olfactory impression. Its progression is like a perfect sphere rolling down a glass plate. For many hours. Nothing jumps, nothing bounces, nothing rattles. You get a mild vanilla, golden meadow honey resting on a semi-dry tobacco leaf, which in turn radiates a mild-spicy (not herbal, not plant-juice-like) aroma. The whole thing is enveloped in a covered honeycomb of beeswax, filtering out the very fine, herbaceous plant scents that are inevitably collected along with the pollen. Any potentially sticky sweetness disappears through this neutral wax filter: only a hint of minimal caramel maltiness reaches the nose, supported by a dusting of cocoa. That’s it. No floral, smoky, or leathery notes. No powder.

You can basically imagine the Xerjoff like this at first. But it doesn’t stop there! An earthy, peaty scent accord joins in. Occasionally, you might catch a whiff of the softest luxury-quality leather. Or even a hint of pine resin or young pine needles. However, this peatiness significantly weakens the vanilla. Thus, the Xerjoff is noticeably more complex.

Is more complex now necessarily better? If given the choice, one would gladly take both fragrances, that much is certain. The Mugler evokes the association of a meadow honey-tobacco mélange wrapped in a delicate beeswax honeycomb. You smell exactly this honeycomb structure - that is Pure Havane. The Xerjoff further develops the theme. One associates a wild bee, just packed with forest honey, flying over a misty peat area back home to its hive to deliver the precious cargo. You could say you are smelling the flying insect, which also carries the scent impressions of its "workplace in nature." The olfactory impression is thus larger, but also somehow pricklier in association. With Naxos, the Mugler honey is enhanced by the natural surroundings, as an addition, so to speak. The depicted scent space is larger with the Xerjoff - indeed more complex. The overall concept is different. The Mugler is the extracted result, the end of the chain. The Xerjoff is also the protocol of its creation. Moreover, its top note is much richer. The top note of the Xerjoff is indeed genuinely better!

Ultimately, I decided to purchase a bottle of Pure Havane. However, the likelihood of getting the 100 ml Mugler at a reasonable price (mid-50 euros) is minimal in autumn 2021. The Xerjoff, on the other hand, is freely available, which is a big plus. Both fragrances are great. I once read somewhere: those who love the Mugler will adore the Xerjoff. That is true, as the Xerjoff tells the whole story, thus being more complete in terms of high resolution. It tells more creation. However, the Havane is purer - Pure Havane indeed, as the name suggests!