COCKTAIL DRY

he Parfum:
The opening is taking me right into the middle of an amazing olfactory playground: geranium, galbanum, clove, and, soon after the first moment, a rich Centifolia rose. The combination and the Floral with the Spicy seems to be the core concept behind this creation. The rose is rich and a bit velvety, but not so strong such as to dominate this phase; the geranium and some mimosa are coming though nicely too. The galbanum is the main counterbalance at this stage, with the clove and a nice and authentic oakmoss in supporting roles - without any mossy harshness though. A bergamot and a neroli add a little bit of brightness, but the latter two might be weaker than originally, due to the age of my sample.

The drydown shifts the balance to a jasmine that is not very green, and only with a modicum of powderiness on me. Again a petitgrain adds some - probable reduced by age - freshness, whilst a restrained note of teas - chomomile and weak Darjeeling - is lurking in the background.

Towards the later stages a touch of sharpness develops, a civety impression with a patchouli thrown in. This is a fairly dark patchouli that I can detect, which has a bit of an edge, but, again, is neither very sharp nor crass - this is not in the tradition of Tom Ford's Purple Patchouli or of Gucci's Nobile - the moss and the patchouli are fully integrated into the mix and not interested in total dominance of the olfactory experience.

Between the Yin of florals and the Yang of spiciness and the civet notes, some fruit is creeping in here and now; mainly dried apricots with hints of fruit cakes. Glimpses of a soft and smooth vetiver come and go, lacking and earthiness on me.

The base is an altogether sweeter affair, although many of the previous notes keep lingering on. Honey and tonka are the bearers of sweeter aromas, but they are never really very sweet. The spicy side is re-enforced by some osmanthus, in combination with touches of ambergris and some darker musks. Interestingly, a nice anise develops now, which is standing back a bit but, nonetheless, makes an intriguing contribution.

Whilst the base notes are fading, the spicy side develops a frankincense with a balsamic character, and whilst I cannot clearly distinguish the Tolu and the Peru balsams mentioned in the scent pyramid, the balsamic notes gain strength and move into the centre of this olfactory stage. There is a woodsy background accord, sandalwood and some orris root, which add additional depth in the final stages of this journey.

I get moderate sillage, excellent projection, and six hours of longevity on my skin.

This complex and multifacted scent for special evening occasions is past of Patou's famous Cocktail series. Whilst this creation has more components to it than any cocktail I ever enjoyed, the extremely skillful blending manages to see most of them develop quite fully and make significant contributions to the whole. These ingredients are of the highest quality, although in the base their vividness and intensity is fading somewhat. The longevity is less than expected from a perfume of this caliber, but age again probably has taken its toll here too. Nevertheless, this is a highly impressive perfume that after many decades is still setting a high standard. A bit attenuated by age, but still a sublime experience. Released 1930 and discontinued alas.  4.5/5