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Colonial Goods II: Wet Dog
The first part of this series was dedicated to a fragrance simply called "Russian." Whether it referred to the leather of the same name or not remained unclear, even after sniffing.
With this fragrance, it becomes clearer. Juchten. Also known as Juchten leather, Juften, Russian leather, Russian Juchten, Cuir de Russie, Russian Leather, and so on. It is hardly avoidable to say a few words about what Juchten leather is or at least was in the original terminology, even if I am not the first to comment on this in this forum. Namely, it is a fine cowhide tanned with plant materials (using birch or willow bark), which was waterproofed by rubbing with birch tar oil. The main manufacturing country was formerly Russia, hence the name. Various types of Juchten were primarily used to make boots, horse harnesses, and wallets. The typical smell, supposedly "like smoked bacon," primarily comes from the birch tar oil, not from the leather. This was already known by Meyers Conversations-Lexikon in 1888, and since then, everyone, including Wikipedia, has quoted it.
Countless great fragrances have been inspired by this fragrance direction (and the name in all its variations). And some small ones too, like this one. If I think about it, I only know one so far, namely Russian Juchten by Harry Lehmann, which is a favorite scent of mine and which I would describe as a crashing masculine Chypre. It has nothing olfactorily in common with this Bernoth Juchten here. Crispy bacon and egg have rather little in common. Perhaps "smoked bacon" also refers to some un-fried 50-kilo piece hanging from the barn ceiling with shiny skin; but my scent memories of that are too far back. I have also never (consciously) smelled birch tar oil pure. So I am at a loss and still need to work out what the commonality of all these Russian leathers is.
Juchten is quite strong and long-lasting for a Cologne. It is a somewhat roughly constructed scent without overly fine transitions, but certainly of some complexity. At the beginning, I perceive a colorful bouquet of rather surprising notes, particularly a soapy, a floral-warm (not to be confused with warm-blooded), and a pepperminty one. Unfortunately, there is again (similar to the washing Cologne of the same brand) a strangely musty foreign note that fluctuates between damp tobacco, wet dog, and, yes, I must say it again: meat sausage (but this time without marjoram). Here I almost wanted to completely tear this scent apart.
However, after about twenty minutes, Juchten stabilizes on the skin, as if the somewhat disparate notes had sorted themselves out. Then it becomes significantly more pleasant. Now a nice spicy-warm clove note can be discerned, and from the meat sausage, something like leather has indeed emerged. The whole thing is underlaid with a freshness that leaves no question mark regarding the Cologne character. Still, for me - contrary to the statements of Fabistinkt and Rasierwasser - it is not a scent that I really like in the end. The 6.5 points are still rather generous. It's a pity, because I would have liked this Cologne, which dates back to 1930 and remains uncommented to this day.
Whether this Bernoth Juchten is not quite successful, or whether I simply do not like this fragrance direction, later tests of similarly conceived fragrances from other manufacturers will show. For the extremely low-priced, but still not worth its price for me, 200-ml bottle, I will find a second use. As for the medium-sized fragrance company Schmitt, it should be noted that the first product I tested from the house, the Maravilla Cologne, remained the only highlight. After that, there were only complete (Bernoth Washing Cologne, Elasco Aftershave) and half (Bernoth Lavender Cologne and this scent here) disappointments.
But Russia is vast, and the series continues!
Addendum: As with the lavender sibling of this scent, the classification as a "women's fragrance" is likely an oversight by the Parfumo editorial team. The fragrance is not marketed as distinctly feminine, and in my opinion, it is not.
With this fragrance, it becomes clearer. Juchten. Also known as Juchten leather, Juften, Russian leather, Russian Juchten, Cuir de Russie, Russian Leather, and so on. It is hardly avoidable to say a few words about what Juchten leather is or at least was in the original terminology, even if I am not the first to comment on this in this forum. Namely, it is a fine cowhide tanned with plant materials (using birch or willow bark), which was waterproofed by rubbing with birch tar oil. The main manufacturing country was formerly Russia, hence the name. Various types of Juchten were primarily used to make boots, horse harnesses, and wallets. The typical smell, supposedly "like smoked bacon," primarily comes from the birch tar oil, not from the leather. This was already known by Meyers Conversations-Lexikon in 1888, and since then, everyone, including Wikipedia, has quoted it.
Countless great fragrances have been inspired by this fragrance direction (and the name in all its variations). And some small ones too, like this one. If I think about it, I only know one so far, namely Russian Juchten by Harry Lehmann, which is a favorite scent of mine and which I would describe as a crashing masculine Chypre. It has nothing olfactorily in common with this Bernoth Juchten here. Crispy bacon and egg have rather little in common. Perhaps "smoked bacon" also refers to some un-fried 50-kilo piece hanging from the barn ceiling with shiny skin; but my scent memories of that are too far back. I have also never (consciously) smelled birch tar oil pure. So I am at a loss and still need to work out what the commonality of all these Russian leathers is.
Juchten is quite strong and long-lasting for a Cologne. It is a somewhat roughly constructed scent without overly fine transitions, but certainly of some complexity. At the beginning, I perceive a colorful bouquet of rather surprising notes, particularly a soapy, a floral-warm (not to be confused with warm-blooded), and a pepperminty one. Unfortunately, there is again (similar to the washing Cologne of the same brand) a strangely musty foreign note that fluctuates between damp tobacco, wet dog, and, yes, I must say it again: meat sausage (but this time without marjoram). Here I almost wanted to completely tear this scent apart.
However, after about twenty minutes, Juchten stabilizes on the skin, as if the somewhat disparate notes had sorted themselves out. Then it becomes significantly more pleasant. Now a nice spicy-warm clove note can be discerned, and from the meat sausage, something like leather has indeed emerged. The whole thing is underlaid with a freshness that leaves no question mark regarding the Cologne character. Still, for me - contrary to the statements of Fabistinkt and Rasierwasser - it is not a scent that I really like in the end. The 6.5 points are still rather generous. It's a pity, because I would have liked this Cologne, which dates back to 1930 and remains uncommented to this day.
Whether this Bernoth Juchten is not quite successful, or whether I simply do not like this fragrance direction, later tests of similarly conceived fragrances from other manufacturers will show. For the extremely low-priced, but still not worth its price for me, 200-ml bottle, I will find a second use. As for the medium-sized fragrance company Schmitt, it should be noted that the first product I tested from the house, the Maravilla Cologne, remained the only highlight. After that, there were only complete (Bernoth Washing Cologne, Elasco Aftershave) and half (Bernoth Lavender Cologne and this scent here) disappointments.
But Russia is vast, and the series continues!
Addendum: As with the lavender sibling of this scent, the classification as a "women's fragrance" is likely an oversight by the Parfumo editorial team. The fragrance is not marketed as distinctly feminine, and in my opinion, it is not.
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