Ocaña by nBitor

Pretty well made; I stumbled upon it almost by chance at a friend’s house who collects perfumes. It might not be strictly necessary, but it really helps if you dive into the history of the man who inspired the scent (José Pérez Ocaña) in some book or online. I felt moved and inspired to reflect, feeling a wave of nostalgia for a city I lived in years ago. It wasn’t the Barcelona of the Raval that Mr. Ocaña must have known, nor the one hinted at in Ivá’s comics or Mendoza’s books; the version I knew was far from having its iconic neighborhoods hijacked by a megamall for tourists and Anglo-Saxon youth looking to get drunk over a weekend in the Gothic Quarter, sporting their Barça gear. Ocaña smells like that rough-and-tumble side the inhabitants of those bohemian neighborhoods used to have. Obviously, as a tribute, it tries to represent a specific sector of the scene, and it does it brilliantly. Great job by Mr. Matos, just needs a round of applause. It’s rough and, as another reviewer said, has an indolic taint that blends perfectly with cumin. Orange blossom, cumin, costus, and sweet notes that yield to a human ensemble from its animalistic side. Projection and longevity are exactly what you’d expect. Anyone can enjoy it, though I doubt it’s for the masses, including those into performative activism. Highly recommended to try it.

As others say, the orange blossom and cumin really stand out here. A fairly indolic orange blossom (boosted by the nards) that turns out to be quite sordid when combined with the musky, sweaty cumin. The composition is very similar to ELDO’s Exprimentum Crucis, but with orange blossom instead of rose and without patchouli, so here it’s a bit drier. I think you can also detect the yerba mate in the background, tilting the blend slightly towards green, though it’s very subtle. It rules the white, a broken white but clearly white. It’s creamy, but a dirty creaminess, lumpy, very Raval.

Smells like an old pharmacy. Very sweet and cloying, like burnt sugar and anise candies. Pleasant smell, though a bit flat. Notes of sweet licorice, maybe coffee liqueur? It has a rancid and sweaty touch. 6/10.