Tonkin Musk? Ya Chuan Anthole

This Limited OudFest edition of Tonkin Musk contains a full gram of Ya Chuan Anthole, one of my most prized ouds. If you haven’t heard of YCA before, that’s because I had to plead with my Sifu’s wife in order to acquire it (she used to dote on it as though it were one of her grandchildren).

I’ve never offered Ya Chuan Anthole publicly and I’m not sure when or if I ever will because it’s truly one of the most precious oud distillations even done. If this oil disappears, a fair bit of oud history goes along with it. I have very little of it. ~80% of the Ya Chuan feedstock used to distill this gem was sinking-grade anthole wild Vietnamese wood – a combo I doubt anybody would be able to pull off again.

We chose this sinking anthole batch above even Nha Trang LTD to match Vietnamese oud with Vietnamese musk – Ya Chuan and Tonkin – for a luxury combo you cannot find the likes of anywhere in the perfume world. Tonkin Musk already hails as the most intricate EO composition to date with very few exceptions, so this irreplaceable OudFest edition is bound to be the crown jewel of any artisan perfume collection.

If it doesn’t make any sense, remember that art and logic seldom get along.

On top of all that, you’re practically getting the entire perfume composition – the SQ sandalwood, wild Cambodian oud, Royal Tonkin musk… everything listed below – for next to nothing. Like with Hailam LTD, there is $1,666 worth of Ya Chuan Anthole inside this special edition bottle of Tonkin Musk – not included in the original formula, but in addition to it! And you’re getting the whole shebang for only the price of a regular DHL Express shipment – which you’re also getting here on the house…

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I’ve been fortunate to handle lots of musk in my career. As a result, I have my fair share of prejudice against the marketing around musk… all the white musks, blue musks, red musks… and now even pink musk!

Then there’s ‘black musk’.

As easy as all the fake musks are to dismiss, you can’t help but wonder if there was some distant reality that gave birth to the claims backing ‘black’ musk because in academic literature black is the only color associated to musk (referring to moschus fuscus).

It wasn’t until I opened a stash of musk that belonged to the don of fragrance collectors and perfumery’s most legendary patron, that my disbelief set in.

Amidst the ancient Tibetan and Mongolian pods, there was a bag that was… different.

When you open that bag, the potency of the aroma that blasts out is unmatched by anything you’ve smelled before. When you hold these pods and study them up close, you’re sure they could be centuries old. It was like black tar, like a proper paste of black ink, as if the pods had been fermenting for a hundred years.

The potency, the ferocity of this musk, and its animalic beauty – a savage grandeur – is incredible. And everything that it touches, it transmutes into gold… as it did with the rare Vietnamese oud we previously infused with it.

Only my most lavish perfumes contain Tonkin musk: Notes From Underground, Chypre Sultan, and the new Private Blend. And the one thing they share is… transcendence. A shimmering debonaire quality that permeates the notes as if breathing class into all of the ingredients it comes into contact with.

To compose a perfume around Tonkin musk and name it after this legendary aromatic was a different challenge altogether.

TOP NOTES

Ginger

Yuzu

Peach

Lavender

HEART NOTES

Mimosa

Styrax

Jasmine

Ruh Gulab

Roman Camomile

Lily of the Valley

Tuberose

Jonquil

BASE NOTES

Royal Tonkin Musk

Tonka Bean Absolute

Wild Papuan Oud

Wild Cambodian Oud

Mysore ’92 Sandalwood

Sultan Qaboos’ Vintage Sandalwood

Bourbon Vetiver

Oakmoss

Orris

Many scent pyramids you see are pretty complete – they just don’t show the ratios. But the above are only some of the aromatics that went into composing this thickly layered fragrance and only give you a hint of what to expect – because all these ingredients are filtered through the magical prism of what I believe to be the true origin of black musk.

Imagine bitter yuzu with that musky Tonkin bite enhanced by the soulful citrus hue of Cambodian oud laced with the rich creamy floral tone of tuberose and daffodil. This fusion alone would make for a regal perfume, but in Tonkin Musk it’s only one layer to relish…

The red tone of Indian jasmine and an old batch of Lily of the Valley I used up to make this perfume comes out in the heart, as the baklava sweetness of tonka bean sautéed with the stirred butter aroma of vintage Mysore sandalwood gets covered in iris root powder diffused through rose essence. All jacked up with the ever-present power of raw dark tar ink black Tonkin musk tincture that carries the perfume.

At a time when any genuine deer musk is a contraband luxury to be used by a perfumer, the one kind that all the books throughout the centuries have praised as the best kind – Tonkin Musk – is one perfumers today can only dream about. Yet, here it is, loud and luscious, for you to indulge in.

I can’t describe the joy and disbelief when, of all places, we acquired these musk pods under lockdown during a pandemic when I couldn’t even leave my neighborhood. Everything was shut down.

Somehow, while many couldn’t even go out to buy groceries, we were brought to the door of the late Sultan’s treasury and handed the keys…

This is the perfume that came back to tell of the wonders he had hidden inside.

LIMITED SUPPLY.

Featured Testimonials…

A few simple words: Wow

It’s so fresh on the opening. Wow. That’s not what I was anticipating. I love it. This is definitely a complex fragrance. It definitely smells, as a whole, better than the sum of its parts… (watch video for full review)

—Ryan S.

/ USA

It’s fantastic

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Ensar Oud Tonkin Musk is a well-rounded, non-animalic, wearable musk-oriented fragrance. The prominent notes I smell are ginger, lavender, Tonkin musk and sandalwood. The floral heart is very well-blended as I cannot distinctively smell many kinds of florals

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Tonkin Musk is gorgeous! I loooooooooove it. The florals

That first initial spray is crazy bight … After two minutes something just opens up and all these notes come out to play. It’s just beautiful … (watch video for full review)

—Ryan W.

/ USA

Tonkin Musk just arrived. I have not worn it out just yet, but after one spray on the back of my hand and an hour later,

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A true prism of a fragrance. After a very small sample, I had to order the biggest bottle possible. I won’t try to do

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This stuff blew my mind. Just hope 35ml (30ml bottle + 5ml decant) is enough to last a lifetime!! How many sprays is that.

—Freddy Q.

/ USA

The hype is real! I got my 30 ml bottle a few days ago, and placed an order for a 50 ml back up yesterday. The composition is absolutely gorgeous. At first, I thought the projection was very weak, but then realized that it was my nose going anosmic to the scent within 5 minutes and the projection was actually powerful! Now, after a few wears, I am able to appreciate it much more and deem it another masterpiece by Ensar. The florals are out of this world, amped by this great musk and smoothed out by creamy sandalwood.

—Moon B.

/ USA

“Tonkin Musk PP continues to impress, one spray is all I need to get a full wearing, 30ml of this will go a long way for me.

Very musky in the opening, a cocktail and rainbow of notes, wild, dense, creamy, and beautiful sandalwood in the background, even getting a hint of incense smokiness today, absolutely beastly projection from such a stunning composition.

This is my 5th wearing, and it has the potential to dethrone my favorite

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Wow. This is amazing! This is an indescribable amazing fragrance. Tiny hints of jasmine along with a white floral creaminess. It’s lucious. There is a rose in the opening that is very spicy but in a small amount. There is a sandalwood creaminess to it. There is a peachy-pear fruitiness in the opening which I really enjoy. There is a gingery-citrusy zing to it. In all honesty, this is blended so well that it

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This review took me a while to write, because everytime I would wear this fragrance, I would discover something new about it. To capture all of the colourful rays of this prismatic scent seemed more arduous than I expected. With some time though, I’ve been able to distill my thoughts on this masterpiece: Tonkin Musk.

Within the first second, you catch lashings of zingy ginger submerged in a light citrus iced tea. There is also an unmistakable piquant red rose which goes well with the sharp opening—Ruh Gulab. The second following that however, the Tonkin Musk breaks through the glass and shoots straight up your nose. It is primal without the funk, dark without being burnt, and boisterous with its mystique. If Tibetan Musk is to Siberian Musk what Blackmore Wagyu is to Black Angus, then Tonkin Musk is a 45 day dry aged A5 Kobe Wagyu steak. It feels so rich and decadent that even the smallest amounts of it can overwhelm you. It’s better to spray this on your wrist and unintentionally catch light wafts of it than to hold it up to your nose constantly as if you were trying to consume your arm.

Further along the road, the fragrance evolves into a wider array of florals. There is a crackling, creamy, and sugary whiteness to it that I can only imagine is the Tuberose. It’s almost like a white floral sherbet, which I wouldn’t be surprised is amped by Lily of the Valley. It definitely overshadows the animalic Jasmine, but I would say that these two florals blend with the Sandalwood to give an unmatched creamy feel. What surprised me though was the Orris. I didn’t think it would pair well with these white florals, but the dark buttery smoothness of it is seamlessly blended—so much so that you very rarely catch it isolated. There is also a slight woody peachy feel which reminds me heavily of Cambodian Oud. If your nose has gone blind to the power of the Tonkin Musk, then you might be able to pick up the herbaceous Chamomile and hints of pepper.

Towards the end of the fragrance, the Musk and Lavender give a similar masculine feel that Tibetan Musk Pure Parfum gives off in its drydown. There is however an added butterscotch almond coating thanks to the Tonka Bean. The Orris melts away while the buttered tobacco nature of Papuan Oud becomes more visible. The greenness of the Vetiver can be felt without the feeling that it’s lighting the tobacco on fire.

Personally, this fragrance is an oxymoron. It somehow captures a rainbow of florals, plants, and woods while trapping them in a a dark Musk prism. It’s a lot more versatile than I expected it to be. In cooler climates, it is a one note scent that can be described as opaque yet addicting. Heat however causes this prism to refract and shine rays of some of the most opulent colours. It projects and lasts to a point where

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This review took me a while to write, because everytime I would wear this fragrance, I would discover something new about it. To capture all of the colourful rays of this prismatic scent seemed more arduous than I expected. With some time though, I’ve been able to distill my thoughts on this masterpiece: Tonkin Musk.

Within the first second, you catch lashings of zingy ginger submerged in a light citrus iced tea. There is also an unmistakable piquant red rose which goes well with the sharp opening—Ruh Gulab. The second following that however, the Tonkin Musk breaks through the glass and shoots straight up your nose. It is primal without the funk, dark without being burnt, and boisterous with its mystique. If Tibetan Musk is to Siberian Musk what Blackmore Wagyu is to Black Angus, then Tonkin Musk is a 45 day dry aged A5 Kobe Wagyu steak. It feels so rich and decadent that even the smallest amounts of it can overwhelm you. It’s better to spray this on your wrist and unintentionally catch light wafts of it than to hold it up to your nose constantly as if you were trying to consume your arm.

Further along the road, the fragrance evolves into a wider array of florals. There is a crackling, creamy, and sugary whiteness to it that I can only imagine is the Tuberose. It’s almost like a white floral sherbet, which I wouldn’t be surprised is amped by Lily of the Valley. It definitely overshadows the animalic Jasmine, but I would say that these two florals blend with the Sandalwood to give an unmatched creamy feel. What surprised me though was the Orris. I didn’t think it would pair well with these white florals, but the dark buttery smoothness of it is seamlessly blended—so much so that you very rarely catch it isolated. There is also a slight woody peachy feel which reminds me heavily of Cambodian Oud. If your nose has gone blind to the power of the Tonkin Musk, then you might be able to pick up the herbaceous Chamomile and hints of pepper.

Towards the end of the fragrance, the Musk and Lavender give a similar masculine feel that Tibetan Musk Pure Parfum gives off in its drydown. There is however an added butterscotch almond coating thanks to the Tonka Bean. The Orris melts away while the buttered tobacco nature of Papuan Oud becomes more visible. The greenness of the Vetiver can be felt without the feeling that it’s lighting the tobacco on fire.

Personally, this fragrance is an oxymoron. It somehow captures a rainbow of florals, plants, and woods while trapping them in a a dark Musk prism. It’s a lot more versatile than I expected it to be. In cooler climates, it is a one note scent that can be described as opaque yet addicting. Heat however causes this prism to refract and shine rays of some of the most opulent colours. It projects and lasts to a point where

At a time when any genuine deer musk is a contraband luxury to be used by a perfumer, the one kind that all the books throughout the centuries have praised as the best kind of musk