Tabac Man Mäurer & Wirtz 2000 Eau de Toilette

I must confess, after a fleeting attempt, I unjustly dismissed Tabac Man. And since everyone deserves a second chance, I decided on a spontaneous purchase. I do not regret it!

It did not reveal itself to me immediately, as it smelled rather blatant and stereotypical upon spraying. But one should not let the prejudices in one's head run wild after this first impression!

The fragrance was created in the year 2000. At that time, there was a strange mix of nostalgically ironic reminiscence of past decades, particularly the 1970s and early 1980s, and a superficial softening of standout creations.
The longer I engage with Tabac Man, the more exciting I find the composition. The scent development is significantly more complex than the (thankfully) sparse name suggests.

A few musical associations come to mind.
First, there is Beethoven's String Quartet op.135 in F major. The beginning is leisurely and pleasant to listen to. Ah, the good old Ludwig, no one is bothered by it! But the themes gradually become more complex, demanding, denser. Suddenly, the mood is entirely different; a seriousness demands concentration and posture, without entirely suppressing the cheerfulness.

From the pop realm, the group Paula should be mentioned. At the turn of the millennium, they made it into the charts with their hit "When it Happened." But more on that as the scent unfolds.

So, I now take the small, well-gripped black bottle and let myself drift. The spray head leaves nothing to be desired, high quality. A few hisses and off to the Spree!

For me, the scent opens like the Berlin department store Alexa, not shabby, not too upscale. To match the sporty basic mood, I jog towards Karl-Marx-Allee. Here, Soviet neoclassicism reigns in monotonous repetition, which finds its counterpart in the supposedly very pleasant Hesperides along with an aquatic accord of lavender and mint.
There it is, the scent of the changing room, of the gym, of the norm. I stroll from Strausberger Platz eastward along the renewed fountains in front of the block-like buildings and feel like I am in a geometric series: something repeats at regular intervals. The avenue offers no vanishing point, no landmark like an obelisk or a triumphal arch. It is unclear where the journey is headed. In my hasty thoughts, uniformed people reside in these socialist palaces.

Thus starts the song by Paula. Very pleasant, funky, one immediately wants to sway their hips. The initial lyrics are easy to memorize, comfortably simple. One might think that the song can be consumed without hurdles. Far from it!

For then, the violet leaf transitions lightly and metallically to the main accord. Here, rose geranium and sandalwood are found in the tradition of the house, but there is no trace of garden carnation and chamomile. It does not round off as woody-earthy and amber here. A new generation has taken over and does not look back with nostalgia. Honor where honor is due, but now we set new marks!

A spicy pair, coriander and especially cardamom, envelop the floral woodiness. And thanks to the classic trio of oakmoss, vetiver, and plenty of patchouli, the accord receives a deep green cloak with woody-brown speckles. Don't I know this from the 1970s? No, no, here one only alludes, the green scent impression is refreshingly different!
By the way, the lavender dances along the entire time, it cannot be tamed quickly.
There is no trace of the initial leveling out; it becomes more complex here.
I have arrived at Boxhagener Platz and rest on a park bench. The hustle and bustle around me becomes more diverse.
Here is a sample of the middle part of the song, now only accompanied by the electric guitar:

On a lifeless empty, endlessly long morning
there was only waiting for the call,
that promised happiness.

Yes, it becomes more difficult to dance carefree to the song.

And the scent urges an upright posture, for good old acquaintances from the 1980s ring in the final stretch.
There is this balsamic fir, a nice aftershave slap to wake up. Young man, now it gets serious!
I turn back onto Karl-Marx-Allee, hoping for a good spot in the ČSA bar.
Suddenly, the buildings no longer seem so monotonous to me, for I just walked past genuine prefabricated buildings of the next generations and was shaken. I now recognize an urban splendor, generous spaces, and an unmistakable character of this avenue. The twin buildings at Frankfurter Tor replace the triumphal arch with their mighty towers. With delicate columns, they support very beautiful domes.

And now it becomes familiarly elegant. My beloved clary sage arrives in fine, quite sporty attire and wants to discuss more serious topics. We make ourselves comfortable at the bar, surrounded by a light hint of vanilla, like a transparent veil.

Now follows the heavier part of the song:

Too early in the morning, the light of day broke over me,
to remind of the horrors of a bad world.
The day went by - I watched it and saw that nothing happened.
There was only waiting for the call,
that promised happiness.

If only the cheeky lavender weren’t there, we could talk for hours. But at the end of the song, we sway a little. For Tabac Man is unconventionally friendly, buddy-like, and open-minded.
The astonishing thing is that something has been turned around here. I have not yet encountered a creation where clary sage suddenly takes the lead role and even delivers a da capo con gran finale. The bold conclusion deserves applause and respect!
What a wonderful stroll in the good parlor of the workers' and farmers' state.
Who could have guessed that in 1989…
For the sake of fairness, I will leave my initial comment standing to show that a fragrance also deserves a second chance. Unfortunately, I can only give a single rating here, which is now clearly better than the first description. Back then, it was 7 points.

And a thank you to Stulle, he was able to convince me to try again.