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Class 1 scrubber. Revolting smell of old pizza and incense. Even after scrubbing you will smell like this for hours.
This is a solo effort, like the remix by one half of a duo's original tune. D'ya know what I mean? I actually think that is the case because wasn't the original Negrin and someone else? It felt like a melting pot of ideas, for better or worse anyway. So 53 is a focus, a study on the best parts of Interlude but personally for me, it's redundant. I have the brilliant original and this one just feels like a very lovely, toned down more refined version, but who wants that? Seriously! Interlude was never supposed to be that in my opinion. It's ridiculously complex, bombastic, and somewhat raw. The fact that Fragcomm idiots call the original 'The blue beast' I bet they were salivating when Amouage announced a 53% concentration of it, woohoo the blue megabeastmode!!! Anyone who understands perfume concentration knows that this will have been geared up to be this 'strong' and in actual fact will probably have the counter intuitive effect of being much lower lying and more 'bassy' which it surely does. I think it's a softer edged incense and spicy, dark woody scent, full of everything enjoyable about Interlude but quieter, clearer and more focused, but still strong. Hey I mean I like it a lot. I need to wear it more. I will say this for 53, it feels less hassle to wear, it's not a big statement piece, and for that perhaps it might be better, because I can rarely find an occasion suitable for the original, whereas I think I'd reach for this.
This has the same element of seeming "soaked" in sandalwood as the new essences line. I was very skeptical about this aging in barrels business but I have to admit that it does give a certain something to the scent. I'm not sure it's some wondrous new revelation, but it does give a nice creamy, rich base, which is sumptuous in a way you don't normally get. It's like sandalwood sings a baritone all the way through. This one smells sort of nutty, and more culinary than the original, and overall it's a bit more polite, though not much. An interesting digression from the OG, but not something I'd spend 500 euros on, not in a million years.