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Weihnachten mit einem Freund (by NuiWhakakore)

1445 Castle Forbes 1997

7.8 / 10 70 Ratings

A popular perfume by Castle Forbes for men, released in 1997. The scent is green-spicy. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Green

Spicy

Fresh

Fougère

Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Petitgrain Lemon

Lemon

Heart Notes

Lavender

Tarragon

Base Notes

Clove

Patchouli

Vetiver

Perfumer

Andrew French

Ratings

Scent

7.870 Ratings

Longevity

7.161 Ratings

Sillage

6.861 Ratings

Bottle

7.364 Ratings

Value for money

7.625 Ratings

Submitted by Chemist · last update on 09/24/2025.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

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Tuscany per Uomo / Etruscan (Eau de Toilette) by Aramis

Tuscany per Uomo Eau de Toilette

Classic Scent After Shave

Paco Rabanne pour Homme Eau de Toilette

Essence N°6: Vetiver

Reviews

9 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/10/2015

ColinM
516 Reviews

ColinM

Azzaro pour Homme goes Scot!

1445 by Castle Forbes is among the nicest alternatives to vintage Azzaro pour Homme which I’ve ever tried so far. While current Azzaro is still great, but – like pretty much any contemporary designer fougère – feeling a bit flat, tame and washed-down, 1445 brings back quite the same mossy-herbal-woody round richness of the vintage, even replicating the same sage-lavender anisic trademark of Azzaro. The differences are subtle, but remarkable enough to make it not too redundant if you already own Azzaro: a muskier, “grayer” base with a sort of “damp stones” feel, some more citrus, a bitter herbal side of tarragon, more cloves (especially on the drydown) and overall, sort of a simpler, more artisanal, and more natural feel, also with a drier, smokier drydown. Castle Forbes’s products are allegedly made in some small countryside in Scotland, and whether that’s true or not, 1445 does indeed smell somehow “simpler”, but rawer at the same time, if compared to the products of a major corporate like Azzaro. I mean – just as you would imagine something manufactured in a small workshop on the Scottish hills would smell. Old-school, natural, foggy and grassy, kind of damp and dark, classy yet straightforward and easy-going. The evolution has some interesting, pleasantly natural transitions; the smell remains herbal and woody, just becoming drier, smokier, darker, spicier (cloves) and with a prominent camphorous feel of mossy-earthy ambergris, with a sort of light metallic aftertaste.

Overall a really traditional, mature, completely uncreative yet very pleasant aromatic fougère. Nothing astonishing, but it smells really good (isn’t that the most important thing, in the end?). The only “unique” feature being that sort of countryside-artisanal feel which makes 1445 smell more easy-going, more natural, somehow more breezy than a proper vintage fougère. Very solid and fine for the price. By the way the bottle I based my review on is a bit older than the ones which are sold today (tartan motif, no allergens listed, I guess it dates back to a dozen years ago at least), so I don’t know if it’s still that good.

7,5/10

03/08/2020

9Scent 5Longevity 5Sillage

FvSpee
323 Reviews

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FvSpee

Top Review 26

Lavender Innovations No 1: Tarragon.

Lavender is a scent note that we all believe we know well, more or less justifiably. However, one does not need to be Yatagan (who has published encyclopedic insights on lavender fragrances here on Parfumo) to suspect that one can compose a wide variety of scents from and with lavender, and that lavender soliflores can also smell quite different. So far, I have had three reference lavender fragrances that have firmly etched themselves as landmarks on my scent map: Island Lavender by Caldey, a wonderfully crystalline, bright, transparent scent made by English monks, lavender water by Harry Lehmann, the warm-herbaceous counterpart (I spontaneously gifted my bottle about a year ago to someone who liked the scent, and now it seems to have fallen victim to some new regulations, and I fear I won’t be able to get it again), and of course the genius vanilla-lavender composition "Caron pour un homme," one of my very first purchased fragrances since I started delving deeper into perfumes.

But lavender can indeed be something entirely different! This is evident in this - as Apicius rightly noted - quite unusual, independent scent (I can't think of any that smells remotely similar) from the charming little Scottish house "Castle Forbes." 1445 is very green, natural, not just in color; and furthermore, it is a bright, uplifting, clear, precise, and distinct scent. Perhaps "slim" describes it even better: It is anything but cloying and opulent, appearing concentrated, straightforward, and wiry. When I first encountered it two years ago on one of the "Berlin Scent Walks" in a perfumery shelf, it immediately catapulted itself into my nose, my heart, and onto my wish list; I perceived it, as my spontaneously formulated statement at the time confirms, as warm. I wouldn’t phrase it that way today. However, I still see it as gentle and delicate in a very masculine and unfluffy sense, especially now that it has fallen from my wish list into my fragrance cabinet for Christmas.

I believe (without it being provable or particularly relevant) that I would recognize the lavender today even without looking at the scent pyramid, and very distinctly at that. Its distinctive, often described as powdery, calling card is unmistakable. Knowing the declared ingredients, I would reconstruct the (genially simple and clear) basic idea of the composition as follows:

The heart of the scent is lavender, which is paired with a scent companion that is just as distinctive (but much less common in perfumery), and that is tarragon. This dream partnership is as unmistakable as the lavender-vanilla marriage of 1932 and conveys a very unconventional, almost crazy, but very, very beautiful kind of green, bright, slightly bitter herbal freshness, which one doesn’t quite know how and where to categorize, in the meadow, in the forest, in the kitchen. Cunningly, tarragon is also not as popular an herb as basil, thyme, or rosemary (and probably not so typically Scottish, by the way), but belongs, like chervil, to those herbs whose scent and taste one is always unsure about, and where one always looks particularly closely at the expiration date on the spice jars in the kitchen because they are used so rarely.

If one wishes, one can also count the clove as part of this heart and interpret 1445 as a three-pole scent instead of a two-pole one. For me, however, it is a duality, much like with Caron: I would understand the clove, if we don’t want to exclude it for the sake of simplicity, as an extension and complement to the tarragon: lavender, the well-known beau and gentleman, in a love affair with the rugged beauty, the wall herb from the herb garden.

The rest is quickly told: After such a stroke of genius, less is more, and the least is the most: A fine citrus top note and a solid vetiver-patchouli base, both of which should not stand out but merely frame the picture. Perfect. Vive l'Écosse!

Updated on 03/08/2020

06/10/2016

9Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

Rebirth2014
25 Reviews

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Rebirth2014

Top Review 14

On the Eve of Revolution

My dear Madeleine!

In the narrow streets of Paris, something is brewing. The dissatisfaction of the people and our king's insensitive handling of the situation, as he continues to fill his empty coffers with inappropriate tax revenues, seems to be leading to a great conflict. Just the day before yesterday, formerly law-abiding citizens stormed the armories and stole the available supplies. For some time now, rumors have been circulating that the prisoners in the Bastille are being tortured to death. So I fear that the wrath of the people may unleash itself at this point. But there is no murder of prisoners in the Bastille! This is a terrible misconception, the origin of which I was able to clarify.

Last night, on July 13, 1789, I visited your younger brother Jacques, who has been assigned as a Cadet in the Bastille under the command of Marquis de Launay. Among the few prisoners - I believe there were seven in total - there was a nobleman who constantly shouted from his cell that he and his fellow inmates were being brutally mistreated. The death that awaited them would be the pinnacle of suffering and redemption at once.

I joined this peculiar specimen of the second estate. Although the damp cell, with its musty stench, dominated my senses, a fine, tart scent radiated from this Marquis de Sade. Powerful and flattering at the same time, his perfume captivated me and drew me in. The citrus note, which I could perceive in my youth in the lemon groves of Sicily, brought a smile to my face. Clove or mint? I cannot name it exactly, but the bitterness transitioned into a woody aroma. Yes, I openly admit, I felt a magical connection with this strange creature crouching on the ground, if only because of the fascinating scent.

“What brings a marquis to this cell?” I asked boldly. A wicked smile spread across his face, and herbaceous, as if we were in Provence on a lavender field, a cloud of scent wafted through the bars of his cell; a spicy breeze.

“A bit of madness, one might think, mon Ami. Have you looked out from the cell? The people, in their trivial lust, are laying the fuse of desire. Well, I will ignite it. Listen to what I have to say to you.” He tore his shirt from his body, and for a brief moment, I perceived his perfume, now powerfully radiating from his bare skin, as an earthy aura. But the lemon that crowned his head fresh calmed me and prevented me from intervening in time. Already, the marquis stood at the bars, shouting at the agitated crowd: “They are killing us all here! You must save us! Help your brothers! Citizens, tear down the walls!”

Diabolically laughing, he sank to the ground and leaned against the musty wall that smelled of sweet grass. “Ordinary, isn’t it?” he grinned at me, as if he could read my thoughts. “Life, you must know, is only adorned by the fine and artistic things. In truth, at the core of all truth lies the vulgar, which must be liberated. Live out what you desire. Do not suppress it. And if you need a motive for it, I will give it to you.”

At that moment, your brother passed by the cell and pulled me away. Jacques shook me and demanded vigorously: “Keep your distance from this devil, Pierre. He brings out only the worst in people. His madness is certainly alluring.”

As I left the Bastille and boarded the carriage, the scent of the Marquis de Sade still clung to me. A fascinating personality that is hard to see through. Whatever will happen in Paris in the near future, he is a part of it, I am sure of that. I will never forget his scent: Immortal, classically composed.

How I would love to leave this powder keg and meet you at our country estate. But once more I must visit this Marquis de Sade today and delve into his essence. It surely will not be my end. So I hope you understand me.

In eternal love

Your Pierre

06/07/2019

8.5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

Weichsi
1 Review

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Weichsi

Top Review 11

Signature Scent

First of all, I must say that I am not a great writer. Generally, I keep it simple with fragrances; either I like something or I don’t. However, since I have now chosen a signature scent for myself for the first time, I will share a few words about it.

Handcrafted in a small manufactory, with selected natural ingredients. This is the impression the brand Castle Forbes gives. The bottle and also the packaging/design seem high-quality to me and look really stylish, especially for the price! A stag's head really makes an impact ;)

I truly believe that after spraying, I perceive something natural and pure. Grasses, moss, forest, simply beautifully green. It somehow also has a hint of aftershave (in a positive sense).
Especially on a warmer or hot day, it feels like a refreshment on the skin. As if you are enjoying the cooler temperatures in the forest on a summer day.

I purchased the 1445 perfume as a blind buy because I really liked the presentation. I find the price/performance ratio very good.

03/25/2010

8Scent 7.5Longevity

Apicius
1328 Reviews

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Apicius

Top Review 9

Opulent Ferns

Oh, this is good. But the sparse descriptions we know - "grasses, ferns, resins" - do not do it justice at all. So I’ll try my luck at dissecting the scent a bit - even if I might miss the mark.

1445 is quite greenish, but it goes beyond that impression. Alongside the greenery, I notice aldehydic notes here. These have been used very sparingly. You don’t really notice them, but they are there! Also, it seems to me that there are traces of anise, fennel, angelica, or something like that in it. But really just minimal traces. I would also say there’s nutmeg and coriander seeds. Clearly, there is a lack of citrus, but I’m not sure if there’s just a tiny bit of lime peel in the mix. The greenery is otherwise warm and softly wrapped in a generously measured bed of lots of musk and little wood. I find this combination somewhat penetrating and defining. A slight sweetness, as well as the typical soapiness, emerges. There doesn’t seem to be much development; 1445 presents itself quite uniformly. The longevity is decent.

Normally, I would find this over the top, but I believe it’s the aldehydes that balance it out again. Brilliantly done - this combination is something I haven’t encountered anywhere else. With all the musk, the scent is comparatively opulent, and I believe it doesn’t stay very close to the body. Thus, it calls for wearers who want to show presence. In style, it is masculine and striking, has the herbaceousness that is often attributed to classic English - pardon me - British colognes, and is definitely Barber Shop Style. The latter is also the norm for this brand.

1445 fully corresponds to the image that this brand presents.

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