Oh yes, I can certainly understand why this fragrance meets with so much rejection: the start is really adventurous!
Anyone who has always wanted to know why Frédéric Malle called his tuberose fragrance "Carnal Flower" should take a sniff of "Tambour Sacré": the carnal facets of this narcotic flower cannot be more clearly defined. They also come into their own in Malles fragrance, but are kept in check by the entire scent spectrum of tuberose - the intense floral white-flower note, the carrion-like indoles and green nuances. In "Tambour Sacré", however, combined with an unsweetened coffee note, they burst forth uninhibitedly, as if the carefully balanced balance in the tuberose cosmos had suddenly shifted. Apparently the dark and sourly smelling coffee here eliminates large parts of the flower kaleidoscope, leaving the tuberose strangely naked, almost physically, in other words "carnal". Even the squeaky pink chewing gum hints are quite unpleasant without the robe that normally covers them and spray a penetrating hairspray aroma - you have to be able to stand all this!
I admit that this is difficult, because this prelude, this clash of the two main actors, who are supposed to shape the entire scent of "Tambour Sacré", really is an imposition.
It does not smell nice, at least not in the sense of 'harmonious', 'pleasant' or 'flattering'. No, this juxtaposition of harsh coffee and diva-like tuberose has more of an olfactory carnage that bathes both opponents in an unpleasant light. May they smell wonderful on their own, here they do not smell good anymore, neither coffee nor blossom.
Fortunately, there are more actors entering the stage and put an end to the confrontational hustle and bustle. Cardamom and cinnamon spice up the coffee, bitter-peeled fruit and the sweet scent of acacia drag the hysterically behaving tuberose from the battlefield.
The plump, warm base, characterized by resins, woods and balsams does the rest, and the fighting cocks calm down visibly. After about an hour, a complex, dark-toned, tangy-spicy and only slightly sweet oriental aroma has developed, which for a change gets by without the obligatory vanilla and fashionable oud.
Now "Tambour Sacré" smells wonderful! And as if it wanted to compensate me for all the inconveniences I had suffered before, the fragrance lasts for half an eternity thanks to Extrait de Parfum concentration.
Normally I am not such a friend of endless long lasting fragrances, but in this case I really have to make an exception, because this uniquely beautiful orientalism, with the now reconciled in the arms lying tuberose-coffee-team in my heart, I can enjoy hour after hour.
The team around Andrea Bissoli Rubini, perfumer Cristiano Canali and Francesca Gotti, the product designer, have created an amazing fragrance again after "Fundamental", but one you have to work hard to create, even more than its predecessor. "Fundamental" with its strong character, fruity and waxy grape accord was not an easy task, but "Tambour Sacré" goes a few steps further in terms of bulkiness.
For me this is art, really great, admittedly modern fragrance art. But ones that I cannot recommend with the best will in the world. I could just recommend "Fundamental", provided the addressee has an open nose for an unusual scent adventure. With "Tambour Sacré", however, I know that I would encounter complete incomprehension - at least at times, the fragrance is an olfactory hell ride that I would not like to impose on anyone.
And yet, I may be a ghost driver and think that everyone else is going in the wrong direction: I like everything about "Tambour Sacré", even the weird opening
In the meantime, I have noticed that the more often I wear the fragrance, the more I look forward to this wild start: to the unleashed tuberose screeching into the freshly brewed, unseasoned and unsweetened coffee - great!!!
Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
AlexD76
AndreiREC
Holscentbar
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