An anniversary and the guest of honor does not appear.
At least not in the grand banquet hall, which in 2024 is constantly rented out profitably for fleeting, loud praises of foolish new releases in the male fragrance sector.
No, such baths in the masses are left to the elderly. His origin, his upbringing, his demeanor, all of it makes him grin knowingly.
It may be that only the side wing was prepared, sparing on garlands and unnecessary kitsch. Only the closest friends and admirers came, a handful.
But that was exactly his heartfelt wish.
The true and honest vein of understatement.
I raise my glass.
“A special toast to our beloved friend!
Dear old chap, you’ve surpassed our expectations once again.
Nine decades of troubled times couldn’t bring your endeavor to rust.
Therefore…
For he’s a jolly good fellow!”
For the laudation, his loyal friends have indulged in fragrance this year, after all, ninety years of successful gentlemanly care deserve to be celebrated properly.
And their Dunhill lighters, cufflinks, and dinner jackets exude classic elegance.
Comfortably, they wait in the leather chairs for my speech.
Just a moment more…
Hiss!
A: Well, well, well. Timeless perfection once again.
And leisurely satisfaction settles in the hall.
A: A very nice lemon pairs with a herbal lavender, under the Mediterranean sun, Eros awakens the bodies with a kiss.
The sensuality of the South wafts…
Tumult spreads.
- Well, really!
- Luckily, there are no children present.
- Goodness gracious!
A: Maestro, music please!
Someone must calm the spirits!
- Sir?
A: Never mind, just play “The Very Thought Of You” by Al Bowlly!
Now come on!
And you there at the bar, pour generously!
A: Ladies and gentlemen, I must insist, we want to celebrate this occasion solemnly!
Please take your seats again!
The redness of the faces slowly returns to an insular pale.
A: Where did we leave off?
Ah yes, the South.
Well, the muscatel sage wafts herbally and full of sun.
Yes, the good man should take a quick leak… pardon, relieve himself.
Murmuring!
A: Were it not for the secret weapon, this petitgrain!
Dear fellows, that’s what I call cool fencing!
Indeed, indeed, so bitter and ice-cold can the cut of certain dignitaries from Germany and Britain…
- This is the peak!
- One more like that and…
- Who even suggested him as a speaker?
A: But, but, I merely wanted to describe the impact of the distillate a bit more vividly.
Who would throw mud like that?
Really!
This note pierces through the entire fragrance progression, to somewhat urn-like the vetiver…
- My heart drops, quickly!
- Penal colony for this brat!
- Shame on you!
- I wouldn’t even throw him to my Rottweilers for a snack!
A: Loyal comrades, the whims of nature should not agitate us, we rise above that.
But please, then I’ll just remain rather unimaginatively sober.
Some of you seem hardly able to wait to pose as exhibits at Madame Tussaud alongside Boris Karloff.
You’ll see it shortly.
- An outrage!
- Tar and feather him!
A: Moving on!
Let’s not kid ourselves, the iris root along with the garden carnation will provide this typical waxy powdery enveloping of the flowers. Exactly, subtly waxy!
Quite clever and distinctive, to avoid getting into a… um, predicament.
Because…
A shoe flies narrowly past me.
- What is wrong with this flat brush?
- I have always warned that these 1970s will hammer the last nail in the coffin of decency!
A: … for where would we otherwise be with the rose?
Well?
It comes out bitter and pale.
On one side, the iris root ensures that, like those wax rolls of yore with music from yesterday.
On the other side, the neroli bleaches any redness, refreshing and chastising this otherwise rather leaden garden queen.
And be glad that the garden carnation boyishly does not leave the usual powdery tendency to the tassel.
- That's right!
- Talcum for men should always smell like this!
- Just imagine showing up rosy-cheeked at polo. Off with the little fruit to badminton!
- That would be a scandal!
A: Quiet please, quiet!
Or do you want to miss the grand base?
Quiet please!
Several pairs of eyes peek eagerly.
A: A dry cedar releases its ethereal resin in well-measured doses, not a jot too much to cover the floral.
Slightly smoky, the green sour vetiver masks itself with a leathery eye mask and looks mischievously agile, glazed with tonka bean, petitgrain floret at the ready.
Wonderfully well-groomed and solidly soapy.
The thief of the night!
- A toast to Zorro!
- My wild years!
- One for all, all for one!
A: Do you see?
How magnificent our guest of honor is!
May stormy times threaten on the horizon, he withstands them with bravura.
After all, he has seen five regents come and go.
The design of his bottle defied the following fashions and convinced with deliberately minimalist, indeed already puristic elegance, slightly playful and visually as well as haptically captivating.
- An icon!
- Him and no one else!
- Eureka!
The hall servant hands me a note on a silver tray.
Strangely written.
A: I assume someone wants to suggest a treasure hunt as the highlight of the evening.
Otherwise, I cannot explain the discussion of a stamp collection in an alcove at a late hour, whoever signs with Fantômas.
One of your usual jokes?
- We showed him!
- The silly Mauritius. Pah hahaha!
The mood lightens.
A: Your schoolboy souls of yesteryear and still very much alive, I see.
Let’s forget it and raise a toast to our Dunhill!
May another ninety years be granted to him!
All: Cheers!
Updated on 12/07/2024
Top Notes 
Lavender
Lemon
Clary sage
Petitgrain
Heart Notes 
Carnation
Jasmine
Rose
Iris
Base Notes 
Cedar
Leather
Tonka bean
Vetiver
50something
RobbieX
Mikael
Olfactory60
Matux
Axiomatic
Salva
SchatzSucher
Eggi37
Yatagan
