Hez Parfums Rue Oud (Hez Binkowitz) 2025 + NOLA Nights Giveaway

August 28, 2025August 28, 2025

J’s image of Hez Parfums Rue Oud

Rue Oud is the latest release from Hez Parfums, perfumer Hez Binkowitz has taken one of his most popular perfumes Bourbon Street and taken it into the night making it darker and more complex, like the bop of wild improvised jazz that catches our groove and locks you in for a wild adventure. Rue Oud is an extrait for when the lights go low.

New Orleans at night Unsplash image.

Hez Parfums Rue Oud kicks open a door and bursts out into the night full of sweet and dark aromas that dance with excitement. Whispers of ouds resonate from darker corners of the street, while fruity notes twinkle like glistening lights. Nestled in Rue Oud’s rich darkness is a delicious smorgasbord of fruits, fresh cool pear and apples evokes the feel of a night breeze with raspberry giving a touch a sweetness like a first kiss. It hints at the promise of more as it expands as this night blossoms in front of you. Cinnamon sprinkles some magic into the mix giving a shimmer to Rue Oud. The textures of the pear cleverly foreshadow things to come just like the raspberry’s more floral side.

Perfumer Hez Binkowitz and his composition Hez Parfums Rue Oud courtesy of the brand.

Rue Oud is true to its name, with an array of ouds weaving their magic throughout the composition. Perfumer Hez Binkowitz sourced these ouds from the amazing David Falsberg of Phoenicia Perfumes you should read his Profiles in American Perfumers interview here. Here there are three ouds at play with one revealing itself later. An Indonesian Wild oud conjures a beautiful earthy woody darkness, with a slight spice, it makes the cinnamon feel deeper in tone while exuding an aroma of aged bourbon barrels. The Thai oud enhances the fruity aspects of the fruity opening, almost stewing the apples and pears while giving a smooth blonde woody facet with a soft dankness, think steamy woods, that humidity of a wild summers night as you step down into a dark basement bar with lowlights and luxurious leather sofas and dark well loved wooden furniture. Rose brings a quiet elegance to Rue Oud, it’s there around you giving a beautiful flow to the wear. Creamy woods and vanilla further enrich Rue Oud creating a velvety rich smoothness, while tonka bean expands the cinnamon’s warmth casting a soft glow that illuminates the dark complex rich woods of the ouds.

New Orleans Jazz free pic

Hez Binkowitz is cleverly expanding and illuminating the facets of the ouds he wants to highlight here in Rue Oud. The Indonesian wild oud really works wonders with the dark woods while the Thai oud cleverly makes the darker moist rich facets of tobacco come alive, you can feel the texture of rolling tobacco, dry yet moist with a delicious denseness. The final oud, another Thai variety known as Prachin, is beautifully crafted giving a sense of mystery. Prachin is one of my favourite oud profiles, it’s dark and rich, with a sharp funk, yet it also possesses subtle incense like smoky notes as it dries down. Here its sharper harsh facets are elegantly smoothed out with vanilla, tonka bean and sandalwood letting the Prachin oud imbue Rue Oud in its mysterious darkness, one that’s intriguing and alluring. Rich leather comes to mind when these ouds combine, dark and luxurious with a soft haze of bourbon lingering just above as if the cask has been opened and the angel’s share has been freed. That subtle spice captures the magic feel of that moment, it’s hard to describe but it’s here, making me think of the Jameson distillery when I did their tour a few years ago.

via Unsplash

Rue Oud’s leathery bourbon feel lingers on my skin for most of the wear, it’s like you’ve found a great bar and wonderful company for the night. As the late dry down arrives the music fades and the party moves on. The Prachin oud, musks and vanilla star here. Hez Parfums Rue Oud shifts into a creamy musky allure that had me puzzled the first-time wearing Rue Oud. Its darkness transitions to a light with a soft smoky almost vanilla thick incense smoke yet there it still holds a dark char of bourbon on its heart. Waking up the next day Rue Oud’s soft scent has this seductive allure, it’s smooth, amplifying your skin with that subtle Prachin oud mystery lingering like a beautiful memory of this adventure. Musks give Rue Oud a beautiful ghostly feel, all its traces haunt your skin keeping things locked in your mind. Rue Oud it’s a beautiful elegant darkness, full of complexity and fun.

Notes: Raspberry, Apple, Pear, Cinnamon, Rose Absolute, Bulgarian Rose, Thai Oud, Indonesian Wild Oud, Tobacco, Bourbon Whiskey, Vanilla, Tonka Bean, Prachin Oud, Bourbon Vanilla, Sandalwood, Cedar, Grey Ambergris, White Musk.

Disclosure: A bottle of Hez Parfums Rue Oud was offered by the brand.

My opinions and nose are my own.

Hez Parfums Rue Oud courtesy of the brand.

courtesy of the brand

Thanks to the generosity of Hez Parfums we have a 50 ml bottle for one registered reader in the USA or EU. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what sparks your interest based on J’s review and where you live. Draw closes 8/31/2025

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