‘Here is your wine, and now tell me and let the story be good...’
‘It is more than good, my lord, for it is true! A child was born, and behold, wise men came from the East to Jerusalem...’
‘...and there were three...and they brought gifts...blah, blah...Son of God...blah...I was supposed to pay for that? Everyone knows the story!’
‘Yes, but it was not like that! I swear, I was there...at least almost! So listen to what really happened: The angel appeared not only to the three, but also to me. He announced the birth of a king, and I was to come to praise him and bring gifts. I could have imagined something better, I tell you! But you don’t simply contradict an angel! They are damn persistent.
So I packed my camels and headed west. At an oasis, fate took its course, for there I met the other three. The worst scoundrels I have ever encountered.’
‘But they were wise men and nobles!’
‘Wise, I can’t stop laughing! Those schmucks! Arrogant upstarts, frauds, and crooks! An illegitimate son of some prince from a third-rate little kingdom of shepherds, and he smelled like it too. A wise man who reads cards in the kasbah for a few copper coins and calls himself an astronomer. And a so-called honorable spice merchant whose saffron has never even seen the noble blossoms of that divine plant from afar. But I only found that out later, too late.
They acted all friendly, and it seemed like a good idea to travel together. Everything went quite well until the conversation turned to the gifts for the king's child. That’s when they started bragging. Gold he brought, said the bastard. It was a tiny pouch with miserable coins. He said the symbol counts, the miser. The other said he had incense. What the hell does a child need incense for? The oh-so-honorable merchant wanted to outdo them all and produced a tiny box of myrrh, probably just as genuine as his saffron. What on earth would that child use it for? It surely won’t have a toothache anytime soon!’
‘Instead of putting down the gifts of the others, you should rather say what your gift was.’
‘Oh, I will! It was an elixir, so fantastic, it contained the whole world. Pomegranates from Tel es-Sa'idiyeh, pepper from Malabar, blossoms directly from the slopes of the Hindu Kush, and the noblest of all roses from the distant empire in the East. The breeze through the clear forests of the Mediterranean. The finest resins were included, and yes, also incense, but the real kind! And as a crowning touch, the balm of Copaifera. Truly an elixir worthy of a king and the Son of God!
They laughed scornfully, but in their eyes, there was a greedy glint. I saw it, but did not want to believe it. It happened as it had to. At the next inn, they brought me wine and said they wanted to apologize for their harsh words. I wanted to believe them and drank, and the next thing I remember is waking up in the middle of the desert. They were gone, with all my camels and of course with the elixir.’
‘And how did you survive, alone in the desert?’
‘Yes, my lord, that is a new story...’
----------
Miel d'Arabie is not a divine elixir, but it is certainly possible that the criminal three kings skimped on the recipe to make more profit from their robbery; such things have been known to happen. But it could also be that the story did not happen quite like that, who can say after all these centuries?
Regardless of its origin, Miel d'Arabie is a finely spicy fragrance, with a sweetness that is clearly present to my nose, but still relatively subtle. It starts sweet-fruity with pomegranate, which I wouldn’t have recognized as such, and a bit of pink pepper, which, as we know, is not actually pepper and supports the fruit a bit, but also adds spice. I would also bet that a pinch of real pepper is included. Light floral notes are already recognizable. However, I do not find the honey that gives the fragrance its name, even though it is probably responsible for the sweetness. By the way, I don’t find the scent particularly Arabic, or only Arabic in a European sense (pomegranate = Arabic, which is true to a certain extent, but otherwise it is international). The name probably sprang from the imagination of the marketing department.
But never mind, the fruity notes fade relatively quickly, and in their place come resins, a bit of incense, and slightly woody notes. The flowers become a bit more pronounced; for me, there is rather a dry, non-powdery iris in the foreground and the rose only in the background, or disguised by the resins. Even for me, a flower hater, it is a pleasant blend, although soon the cypress takes over, dry-woody and with a slight lemon note. In the base, it becomes balsamic. Benzoin is recognizable, and also copaiba balm, which I have consciously perceived for the first time here and have appreciated ever since. It is all very pleasant, soft, and gentle, and by no means as sweet as the name might suggest. The longevity is very good; I can clearly perceive it for 9-10 hours, although it quickly becomes intimate, as the sillage is rather weak.
Miel d'Arabie is for me a very successful, gentle, and understated fragrance. However, it does not make it onto my wish list, as it is just a bit too gentle for me.
Provençal honey
Copaiba balsam
Frankincense
Bulgarian damask rose
Cypress
Patchouli
Pomegranate
Siam benzoin
Iris
Labdanum
Mauritian pink pepper
Scentista
Slowdive
Danny264
NuiWhakakore
Licorice
Chizza
Pollita
Gold
Ergreifend
Violett
