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“Whiskey-inspired aromas have a surprisingly short history,” says Lizzie Ostrom, author of Perfume: a century of aromas. “If you look at mid-century men’s fragrance ads, you’ll often see bottles of aftershave neatly placed next to a glass of single malt whiskey (and a chess set). Whiskey was rarely an aromatic inspiration, more of a lifestyle accessory. Only in the last 15 years have smoky, peaty and syrupy notes really started to infiltrate men’s fragrances.”
In the latest generation of fragrances, the spirit increasingly plays a leading role. It is a key note in The Dandy, the new fragrance by Penhaligon (from £85 for 30ml): A woody amber with notes of bergamot, cedarwood and patchouli that’s straight out of the gentlemen’s club. “There is an emerging trend towards whiskey, cognac and rum notes, or what we call ‘alcoholic’ notes, in fragrances,” says Penhaligon perfumer Fabrice Pellegrin. “They offer a new signature aroma with a deceptively sweet side.”
The complex aroma of whiskey, which contains more than 1,000 esters and other compounds, is difficult to replicate. Penhaligon’s is therefore one of a growing number of perfumers who now choose to use real extracts from whiskey and cognac casks, which are captured through CO2 extraction. “We also employ another technique called FIRAD that can capture the aromatic molecules of rum or whiskey,” says Pellegrin, “and use essential oils from illuminated with wine Wine sediment that reveals a subtle quality, reminiscent of the base notes of whiskey.” His lodestar in creating The Dandy, he says, was the Islay Kilchoman Machir Bay malt.
Kilian Hennessy, founder of Kilian Paris and member of the Hennessy Cognac dynasty, often draws inspiration from spirits for his perfumes. Your new fragrance, out of fashion (£210 for 50ml), is a super sweet tribute to the classic whiskey cocktail that combines a powerful hint of cedarwood with notes of davana (an Indian herb), heady immortelle and styrax (a warm, sweet leathery aroma, also key to YSL’s Opio).
A more contemporary version is Smokin’ Gun from Korean cult brand Born To Stand Out. This unisex fragrance has top notes of Campari with hints of orange, juniper and sweet rum that tickle the nose, drying down to more aromatic, sweet and woody notes reminiscent of a Manhattan rye whiskey (£160 for 50ml, Bloomperfume.es).
BDK Parfums Vanille Leather, £205 for 100ml, harrods.com
Aesop Miraceti, £145 for 50ml
The striking Vanille Leather (£205 for 100ml, harrods.com) from French independent company BDK Parfums uses whiskey barrel extracts to extract the more animalic side of vanilla and then enhances it with potent tuberose, jasmine, orange blossom and violet.
Other boozy aromas channel the whiskey in a rather more elemental way: think a swig from a flask on the stormy coast of Islay, rather than cocktails in a club. Aesop’s Woody Green Scent Miraceti (£145 for 50ml) is an Outer Hebridean hit, combining savory notes of green yerba mate and aromatic whiskey accords in a very evocative way.
Metamorphic, by Imogen Russon-Taylor Kingdom of Scotland (£132 for 50ml), evokes the majestic aroma of warehouse-aged whiskey barrels with a blend of myrrh, amber, incense, tobacco and leather, infused with a deep note of rose. Portal, a crisp green fougère with malted barley spirit or “new brand” accord, and the icy Albaura are equally invigorating riffs on the Scottish landscape.
Jorum Studio Monolith, £114 for 30ml
Bloom Ascèse Forest, £150 for 50ml
If you like it a lot, try the one from Jorum Studio. Monolith (£114 for 30ml). With birch tar, cade oil, coffee and vetiver, it’s salty, tarry, earthy, iodine… and quite exciting in a wild way. Jorum uses recycled oak extracts from whiskey barrels in several of its fragrances and has been working on a fragrance aged in oak barrels as if it were a single malt whiskey. This collaboration with “one of Scotland’s greatest master distillers” will be unveiled in 2025.
At specialist perfumery Bloom in Covent Garden, a current bestseller is unisex Ascèse Forest by Australian designer Naomi Goodsir (£150 for 50ml), a beautifully charred blend of incense, tarry cade wood and what creative director Renaud Coutaudier describes as “boozy/dirty” whiskey barrel notes. It smells like bushfires, old churches and Islay peated malts.