Jockey Club Caswell-Massey Eau de Parfum

Edited to add: For MEN?! I don’t get it. Not only does it smell like it is for a woman (I wouldn’t have thought it was even unisex,) the notes listed make it seem, to me, that it would be for women.

Maud Hart Lovelace, the author, based these book book on her life and her diaries, and that includes her family and friends…all variations of people she actually knew. I always half assumed that Maud’s mother actually wore Jockey Club. And even if she didn’t, Maud would have known of its existence. So was it always for men?! This is so odd.

I only chose this one because in my all-time favorite book series, the Betsy Tacy books, Betsy’s mother wears Jockey Club, a fact that is mentioned a number of times in the series. Although I vaguely knew that JC actually had existed I had no idea that it was still around. I would love to know someone who wears it!

The scent is very soft, which I expected. It DOES seem like a “mother” scent, even now. I’m getting mostly floral, but it’s far more sophisticated than that. There also seems to be a touch of spice.

I’m thrilled to get to sample what Mrs. Ray used. Now I want to do a deep dive into the books; I think that what the other girls wear/own are described like “Violet” or something, but since Caswell has scents like that, I’ll hope they match!

Jockey Club EDP isn't a modern design that's a vintage wannabe - it's an authentic historical fragrance rebuilt from the ground up by Pascal Gaurin, and it's like nothing else in the current market.

It has a bright bergamot opening with a hint of fresh citrus. You can detect carnation and thyme almost immediately providing a neat and clean aromatic spice. This scent is extremely structured and well balanced.

The heart is the signature of this fragrance. Rose and jasmine provide a floral richness that could become too sweet, but orris root and basil hold them in check with a dry, rooted earthiness. The orris keeps this scent semi-masculine. Although rose is a critical ingredient for the floral component, don't be surprised that this isn't a rose fragrance.

The drydown is where Jockey Club really shines. It settles into a soft, warm skin scent where the florals recede, and a quiet amber warmth emerges. It doesn't collapse into power overload the way the note pyramid might suggest - it simply gets closer, more intimate, more personal. with a beautiful hint of powder. Hours into the wear, what remains is clean warmth with just a hint of floral to remind you what you're wearing.

What Caswell-Massey understood with the original, and the update, is fragrance is designed and created for the wearer. They have to be confident enough to pull it off. Jockey Club EDP is a classic, refined, elegant, complex scent that doesn't demand attention. It's designed for the gentleman wearing it. At $200 for 100mL EDP, you're paying for a complex, elegant, classic scent that most houses at twice the price can't match.

JFK wore the original Jockey Club. This is a classic, wonderful, revision of that. It is truly magnificent. Sample it and you will understand why. It is my daily wear and one of my gold-standards!

Sampling Caswell-Massey Jockey Club EDP, a fresh spicy men’s scent from this now-revived classic American house, with a simple note breakdown of bergamot, honeyed rose, basil, and orris root. I certainly get the rose, along with a greenish woody powdery background, and it has a bit of an oriental-meets-chypre vibe to it, a less-woody-and-spicy-than-usual men’s offering from this house that makes up with some headiness and sharpness coming from rose and orris. Its opening is fairly bright but it dries down to being a bit more midway between bright and dark.

I think it’s great, even if not quite as compelling as Number Six or Oaire, my two favorites so far, but I still quite like in a sort of heady, old-fashioned way that’s high-performing, interesting, and one I would consider buying a travel size of to consider further. Still, it’s probably my third favorite of the line and very strong, overall.

As with most of the house’s EDP lineup, this is pried at $200/40 for 100/7.5ml, sold seemingly exclusively via the house website. There is also a Jockey Club Cologne, but this is rather the EDP.

8 out of 10

Jockey Club was apparently JFK's scent of choice in his early years (the cologne Jockey Club Cologne or aftershave Jockey Club After Shave most likely), later switching to The Original which Albert Fouquet made for him.

The newer EDP that I am sampling seems to have little to do with the type of scent I imagine the President wearing, as it's structured as a modern-ish amber-fougere. Think The One for Men Eau de Toilette, but a bit more on the fresh side. Opens citrusy with bergamot, and goes into a spicy-woodiness in the base. I don't get a lot of "powder," more of an amber aromachemical mix. It's alright, nothing to write home about, and certainly not worth the $200 it is going for at retail. Doesn't seem to be available at a deep discount on the grey market either.