The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Gourmand Bakhoor Dehn Al Oud is the 2022 flanker to Jousset Parfums' original Gourmand Bakhoor, picking up where that debut left off and adding a darker register. Jimmy Bodin, credited with perfumer and creative guidance on this release, leaned into confectionery instincts and paired a creamy patisserie base with Laotian oud, a material that pulls the sweetness somewhere smokier and more lived-in. The bakhoor reference points to the incense tradition behind the original, and the oud element adds an oil-like depth that anchors the composition. What results is a gourmand that carries weight, bridging sticky-sweet dessert notes with the resinous gravity of aged agarwood, and creating a profile that feels both indulgent and grounded in something older.
Jimmy Bodin went the other direction with the flanker. The Laotian oud here isn't a whisper in the base, it's a counterweight, resinous and faintly animalic, doing the work of balancing all that burnt caramel and honey. Bodin seems to have understood that a gourmand this rich needs structural opposition, and the oud delivers exactly that, something rougher and more textured beneath the patisserie softness. The composition holds its own weight without tipping into syrup territory.
The evolution
The opening is pure kitchen. Burnt caramel and amaretto arrive first, warm and almost boozy, with vanilla threading through like the smell of a dessert just pulled from the oven. It's an assertive sweetness, unapologetic and full-bodied, the kind of accord that announces itself rather than tiptoes. Then something shifts. The honey and cocoa in the heart darken the composition, the almond turning more bitter, more roasted, pulling the gourmand fantasy away from pure sugar toward something earthier. The oud doesn't storm in. It seeps, gradually, threading resin and smoke through the dense sweetness until that Laotian agarwood is fully present, lending a suede-like warmth that grounds everything above it. The drydown carries that same smoky sweetness, a slow fade where the oud and caramel trade the spotlight until only embers remain.
Cultural impact
Gourmand Bakhoor Dehn Al Oud sits at a specific intersection: the bakhoor incense tradition paired with Laotian oud, a material that bridges Middle Eastern olfactory heritage with Southeast Asian sourcing. It's a 2022 release that treats sweetness as a serious artistic material, layering burnt caramel, honey, amaretto, and cocoa against a smoky agarwood base rather than letting the dessert notes dominate unchallenged. The fragrance occupies a space where gourmand plushness meets oud's rougher textures, offering wearers something that feels indulgent but grounded, sweet but shadowed.
