Epic Man 
Amouage (2009)

Reformulated, Oman version, circa 12 hours after spritzing twice.
The herbaceous accord is still going strong, but now, I am getting a very, teeny-tiny hint of Vicks Vapor-rub. Before you turn up your now cleared out nose, this is a minuscule accord. It's minty, but less "green"; more like a mint julep. No, there's no boozy accord here.
If there is real Oud in this juice, it bears no resemblance to the Oud I get with Malle The Night or Oud Assam. Indeed, the leather and Cedar play more important roles here. And while Civet isn't named, there is a similarity wafting. I can see why some might akin this to tangy, body odor, which, for me, is not a bad thing, especially if it's connected to a lover.
It still tingles my nostrils, long after the dry-down. Sillage is big; bigger than arms-length. Projection is very strong for the first few hours, and while it does settle down, it continues to rise up off of the skin.
Epic is a strong scent for a strong man, best worn with a camel-hair, 3/4 length coat in the winter. However, it would work just as well, sailing the ocean blue on a 50' yacht with a white shirt and Sperry Topsiders.
This is great juice with a stank that's right up my alley.

Epic Man is what we've come to think of–or perhaps used to think of–as a fragrance for manly men: a dry and pungent mix of herbs and spices, incense, leather, woods, and animalics. The pyramid lists "berry essence," patchouli, and geranium, but a fruity floral this ain't. Rather, they provide just enough juice to combat desiccation, like mink oil rubbed into the leather. (Without that, you risk ending up with something like Orlane Derrick.)

One review called out an overbearing sweaty cumin note, but as someone who rejected Puig Quorum and Sung Homme for that reason, I didn't find any such issue with Epic. It's not even close to the superb Eau d'Hermès in that department. (If you smell BO, maybe it's you.) Also, while various reviews make Epic sound like some sort of monster fragrance, I haven't found it so in my admittedly cautious application.* Not that I'd use it to act out an Axe Body Spray commercial, but a couple more spritzes wouldn't have hurt anyone.

A full bottle is likely on my horizon.

* Then again, my wife came home hours later and caught the sillage from across the room.

TLDR: Extraordinary (4.8/5). BOOM! Epic explores the wearable limits of excess. Wonderfully complexity. Masterfully blended. The dirty oud in the base adds depth to the marked incense notes that center this giant fragrance.

This fragrance projects strongly and has nearly eternal longevity. When I first got a 50 NO bottle of Epic Man (available from Amouage botiques, mostly, although sometimes the small bottles turn up at other retailers), I was certain I'd never use it all. It was too strong, too intense. Yet I just bought a second bottle because the first ran out. Of course, much of the time I am in Dubai, where what might, diplomatically, be termed "stronger" scents are more tolerated by people generally and where the high heat and omnipresent air conditioning do create a scent-crushing effect that makes fragrance bombs more wearable. Nonetheless, used carefully, you may find that this fragrance is more versatile than you might think after a first exposure.

(By the way, for those folks who have complained about reformulated, diminished Amouage products, the new bottle (magnetic cap, product of Oman) smells identical to, and performs just like, my old
(circa 2010) one.)

The opening here, on my skin, is all about spice souk levels of colliding smells. There is a bit of fruity sweetness at the very first, but that element is submerged under a kaleidoscope of spice. Yet somehow the blending works to create a coherent whole.

The base is a dirty, animalic leathery incense/oud affair that at once recalls and mostly surpasses the monster fragrances of the 1970s and early 1980s. Again, it probably shouldn't work as well as it all does.

But for me, it is the "melodic" bridge in the heart notes where a cooling minty and green geranium pops up to provide just a brief respite before smokey myrrh notes signal the renewing storm that blows me away. When I have dared to spray Epic Man in high heat, the geranium's appearance is most noticable.

But today, I am in unseasonably cold early spring Chicago and snow is forecast for later. This type of day, where the cold is made worse because you're not quite acclimated to it at the moment, is when my Western nose most appreciates Epic Man.

If you love your fresh ambroxan frags or regularly spend time reflecting on whether or not a scent will drop panties, boxers or whatever other sort of undergarments light your fire, then this fragrance is one you will want to avoid. For other folks, however, there may come a time when you reach a point of fragrance satiety and need a blast to restart you olfactory hunger. Epic Man is precisely what is needed in such situations. Of course, like all potentially dangerous substances, this fragrance needs to be used with great care. Judiciously applied, at carefully selected times, Epic Man is wonderful.

When Amouage decides to name a fragrance "Epic Man", they ain't messin' around McGhee. Amouage Epic Man (2009) is indeed an epic piece of masculine perfume art, the likes of which haven't been seen in the mainstream since the massive powerhouses of the early 1980's with all their animalics, resinous base notes, and "leap out at 'cha" tops. Seemingly in the tradition of Bogart One Man Show (1980), Yves Saint Laurent Kouros (1981), Chanel Antaeus (1981), or Quorum by Antonio Puig (1982), perfumer Randa Hammami has channelled an unsafe number of masculine notes on top a bed of weapons-grade woody/musky base notes to make sure projection is across the street, sillage is forever, and that everyone knows's you're "the cologne guy". This stuff is Glorio in excelsis deodorant, beauty in gratuity, but an absolute nightmare for anyone into the clean citrus ambroxan stuff modern "FragBros" carpet bomb elevators or subway cars with on the daily. Naturally, there are bits and bobs of oriental touches throughout because this is an Amouage perfume, so expect some oud, frankincense, cypriol, and other notes favored in the Middle East. Amouage is still very much niche and very much expensive because of it, but for anyone of an old-school persuasion wishing they still "made 'em like they used to", this is the one you want. Also, I should mention it's nigh impossible to take something this overblown very serious, but I'm hoping that was the point behind its creation, because I love perfume brands with a sense of humor since it's the antithesis to pretension.

The opening of Amouage Epic Man is a huge cypriol and bergamot blast dialed to 11, filled with saffron, cumin, mace, and a noticeable pink peppercorn melange to give that sour start a lot of mulling and rounding-off. The mace in particular leaps out in ways similar to Moschino pour Homme (1990), and likewise Epic Man also has a leather note to make it feel like an homage taken to another level kind of dealie. The heart of the scent has a bit of sweetness from dark blackcurrant, flanked by geranium and nutmeg, offering a green counterpoint to the very bright fiery top that matches the color of the bottle. The base is where all the good stuff lives however, with isobutylquinoline leather, castoreum, olibanum, sandalwood, and a light dollop of barnyard oud that gets cozy with the catoreum by way of a patchouli pillow for snuggling together. Green, spicy, citric, resinous, animalic, and very, very loud, the full bombast of Epic Man offers 24+ hours of wear time you'll have to scrub off and stratospheric projection people will hate. Seriously, this is the strongest masculine I have witnessed since the original Joop! Homme by Parfums Joop! (1989) originally knocked me on my back. Where or when you should wear this is up to you because everyone is going to know you're coming and you'll either part a crowd like Moses parted the red sea, or get chased by pitchforks and torches back into Frankenstein's castle. If I was really pressed to give context, I'd say at least keep this to cold weather use, because any other time of year will have you getting hit with a garden hose if you're not cautious of where you're walking.

Amouage as a house is often cited as being a brand for "flexing" because the perfumes are expensive, in very opulant packaging, and often extremely extroverted in style. If this is truly the case, Epic Man is the Amouage to end all Amouages in that regard, because it gives deep vintage Kouros and Antaeus a run for their money in the "holy moley" department. I think these kinds of things are a blast to wear, so I'm totally on board with Epic Man and suggest it to anyone looking for a modern alternative to an 80's monster masculine, even if the price is no better than a deep vintage example because of the brand being in that luxury segment. Sometimes deals do pop up, placing this more in the Tom Ford signature range price-wise (so you can always hold out for that time), but if you're looking for loud, low-slung, and packing heat, this is one the best out there. Personally, the composition is a bit "kitchen sink" (but so are many classic Guerlains), but if we're going to nitpick this at all besides the outrageous style, that would be one point of contention I could find. Once more, anyone into more-conventional concepts of masculinity or stuff that in general will garner compliments and follow conventional wisdom of what is considered "good" may want to skip Amouage Epic Man, since it combines the virility of your dad's date night juice with the ostentacious nature of a Middle-Eastern perfume made to survive 100 degree-plus weather, doing so with a middle-finger raised. Get your hands on a sample and look out below! It's Epic Man time!! Thumbs up.