Jöklalykt Fischersund 2023

Iceland, that rugged and jagged island in the North Atlantic, is known for many things. For wild black landscapes created from ice and fire, for blue-glowing glacial ice and dramatic waterfalls cascading over cliffs, for bizarre formations of lava rock and for the noble rotten Greenland shark called Hákarl, which is barely bearable even with schnapps.

Perfume was not (previously) part of the Iceland myth. Now, however, the Reykjavík-based label Fischersund has set out to make the scents of its island - or rather: its myth - olfactorily tangible and wearable as perfumes. And what can we say? It is at least interesting and academically remarkable, although - like Iceland itself - certainly not to everyone's taste.

They created a first handful of fragrances 'on their own', i.e. only as the Fischersund label, and two more in cooperation with the Icelandic outdoor outfitter 66°North, something like The North Face or Patagonia. Not exactly the most obvious brand for a perfume, and yet the archaic nature of Iceland allows the venture, especially as it is done consistently and carefully.

Jöklalykt is one of these two, and it is an unusual, yet fascinating fragrance - and from the perspective of noses socialized in temperate climates, it is pure niche. Its characteristic accord is geosmin, also known as petrichor, which describes the scent perception of rain on dry earth, flanked here by a cool, ozonic accord, but far beyond the artificial shower gel association that ozone usually enjoys. Jöklalykt is a completely impassive, almost matter-of-fact, black-brown scent, yet astonishingly powerful - like ancient, blue-green solidified water breaking groaningly from a glacier tongue and then coming to rest on black sand, while a pale rain falls silently from low clouds onto the glacier Breiðamerkurjökull, which calves into the lake Breiðárlón near the coast.

Conclusion: the Fischersund label will not become a relevant player in the world of fine fragrances in the foreseeable future. As a niche, however, it at least deserves attention and recognition for this highly interesting, exciting fragrance made of sky, earth and ice. Anyone who finds an opportunity to test it - in Reykjavík's city center or at Keflavík airport - should not miss it.