This is what niche perfumery is all about. After an extremely lackluster year of market saturation, designer imitation, niche flankers, and the obsession with synthetics;
Aquila Absolute is one of the limited few fragrances that stands out for the underlying product. The reason why it stands out is because the scent itself is a great example of what niche houses can achieve when they try to create something worthwhile. There is a legitimate argument that this is Julien Rasquinet's best release *ever*.
Let me offer you a short-form summary of the fragrance's evolution:
Aquila Absolute opens fruity & rosy. These tones are flanked by a sweet & aromatic cardamom. Up-close you get masculine, bitter fougère type qualities which are ultimately backed by a fairly tame leather base.
Now take that description and try to think how you would recreate this fragrance with other ones. The fruity-rosy open can be viewed as the equivalent of
Rose Omeyyade Extrait which is a rose & raspberry fragrance. The scent then has the cardamom which is somewhat soft, but given the lack of cardamom-focused fragrances in the niche market, imagine a non-spicy version of Xerjoff's "Starlight | XerJoff". The bitter fougère tonalities here will be reminiscent of fragrances like "Original Collection - X: The Masculine Perfume of the Perfect Pair / X for Men | Clive Christian" and
Reckless pour Homme Parfum, perhaps even
Burlington 1819. The comparison to
Burlington 1819 is especially accurate as the tones here (especially the violet leaf accord) give off a very specific body odor-esque feel like the cumin does in B1819. Lastly, the mild leather base is much like in Masque Milano's
I-III Russian Tea which is a smoky leather-tea fragrances with raspberry & mint.
That lengthy description is the reason why
Aquila Absolute is among the best niche releases of 2023. I have seen some of the comparisons suggested by the community and I don't think any of them really do this fragrance justice. The
Tuscan Leather Eau de Parfum comparisons are very much in bad faith as the core scent of Aquila Absolute is driven by the violet leaf and cardamom, not the raspberry and leather. Similarly, the oud here isn't prominent and therefore comparisons to scents like
The Moon are also off, especially since animalic is not a top 10 accord with this fragrance. While Electimuss isn't exactly known for unique product,
Aquila Absolute clearly is far enough from it's inspiration to make nailing that inspiration quite difficult.
The fragrance is ultimately let down by pricing (€340/100ml) and the performance isn't exactly mind-blowing as it gives off moderate sillage on approximately 8-9 hours of longevity. (call it 8 hours on moderate sillage). This is a spring-fall & maybe winter fragrance that has aspects suiting both younger and older gentlemen. A standout for Electimuss in 2023.
Top Notes 
Raspberry
Guatemala cardamom
Heart Notes 
Turkish rose absolute
Egyptian geranium
Base Notes 
Egyptian violet leaf absolute
Patchouli
White oud
Labdanum
Leathery notes
Dixieland88
GrumpyGenXer
NicheOnly
