Top Notes 
Cinnamon
Liquorice
Ginger
Pepper
Heart Notes 
Caramel
Rum
Tobacco
Leather
Base Notes 
Amber
Cedarwood
Vanilla
Benzoin
02/29/2024
BerryTerry
11 Reviews
BerryTerry
1
A different kind of photorealism
This starts with a muted, well-behaved pepper, a very pronounced tobacco (more leafy than roasted) and subtle, sweet hints of vanilla, caramel, and amber. Shortly after the first burst, the cinnamon comes out and creates a very faint and ephemeral "apple pie" effect.
In the heart, Royal Bourbon becomes a roasty, smoky tobacco with just a bit of sweetness. There’s a tiny bit of fluorescence here that provides an interesting, not off-putting intensity. I could’ve sworn there are resins here, but upon checking the notes I get the impression that the caramel is providing a bit of a resinous texture when it mixes with the tobacco and the rum in the heart. I caught myself wondering what role the "bourbon" is supposed to be playing in this fragrance, but then I realized that is boozy not in the heady, sharp way that alcohol smells when you sniff it from a bottle, but rather in that it perfectly recreates the smoky sensation that you get in the back of the throat after swallowing rum or whiskey.
The comparisons to Tobacco Vanille are inevitable, but something about this one makes me feel like it's lighter, less intense (still with equivalent sillage and projection), and even layerable.
In the heart, Royal Bourbon becomes a roasty, smoky tobacco with just a bit of sweetness. There’s a tiny bit of fluorescence here that provides an interesting, not off-putting intensity. I could’ve sworn there are resins here, but upon checking the notes I get the impression that the caramel is providing a bit of a resinous texture when it mixes with the tobacco and the rum in the heart. I caught myself wondering what role the "bourbon" is supposed to be playing in this fragrance, but then I realized that is boozy not in the heady, sharp way that alcohol smells when you sniff it from a bottle, but rather in that it perfectly recreates the smoky sensation that you get in the back of the throat after swallowing rum or whiskey.
The comparisons to Tobacco Vanille are inevitable, but something about this one makes me feel like it's lighter, less intense (still with equivalent sillage and projection), and even layerable.
