Havana Aramis 1994 Eau de Toilette

Havana is a fragrance with an extroverted top note, a smooth heart note that maintains the sovereign balance and expression of the components, and a long base note that is perceptible for over 6 hours. It’s all about expression, because in this Cuban bar, every heart beats. Sweetness is off the table for now. Here is passion. Here the dance has begun.
In my mind, the old shellac record player is spinning Buena Vista Social Club, Esperanto by Freundeskreis, and in the old wooden shelf, one spots the Communist Manifesto next to various cookbooks of spicy and intense dishes. A delicate hint of vanilla wafts from the kitchen into the nose, mingling with the scent of the old cigar. The music and smoke flow together in a wind chime through the streets and even reach the mountains with their steaming sun-kissed palms and ancient conifers. The slight coolness in the shade of the monumental Cuban pine in front of the building adorned with all sorts of paintings is quickly forgotten.

Even though Christmas is being celebrated coldly in Europe right now. Here, it’s heating up, and after this first hour that feels like an era, the vanilla tobacco smoke rises like blue haze in the dance bar, accompanied by the scent of cinnamon stars being served from the kitchen. I treat my lady to a drink and toast her with my rum glass before I stand up and smilingly lead her to the dance floor with a kiss on the cheek.

Now begins what I call "sovereign balance and the expression of the components." It’s something different from composure, but damn close. A mix of tension and relaxation. A pirouette with happiness. And from then on, I don’t care about anything else.

Except for our opinions during the intense conversation after our dance, whether Hemingway, Marx, or Butler belongs in this wooden shelf and what Obama has done for Cuba. In the end, we embrace tightly and promise to be like brother and sister, because that’s what it’s all about. We sit relaxed on a leather couch, and I notice from her scent: We both like vanilla. And I like and kiss her neck. A beautiful common ground.

Whoever wakes up in the morning after this night in the bar and smells the tobacco scent on their clothes is glad they are not going out anymore. Non-smokers are the true connoisseurs.

On the progression:
1. The top note: basil, tarragon, and mandarin, but in the spice shop next to cumin and green tea (the opening at the bar next to the kitchen).
2. The heart note: tobacco, cinnamon, vanilla, and fir (the dance in the smoke).
3. The base note: oak, leather, musk, and sandalwood (the conversation on the leather couch)