Il Padrino Sospiro 2025

Starting on the 1st of September, I will be exclusively covering samples of British luxury brand Boadicea the Victorious for around a month. With that in mind, I set myself the goal of finishing off the last 2025 samples I had on hand, those being the 6 fragrances launched by Sospiro, the brand formerly recognized as being Xerjoff's middle-eastern alternative. This is the last of the 6 samples, but it's actually a lot more than just a sample. As of the 29th of August 2025, Il Padrino ranks as the #1 niche release of 2025 here on Parfumo with 311 ratings and an average rating of 8.9/10. I'm sure I don't need to tell anyone that living up to such a standard is essentially impossible.

For those even moderately versed within the niche market, the profile of Il Padrino will be easy to understand as it primarily offers notes and accords from existing products in the market. Il Padrino opens with a sweet-spicy DNA that is extremely comparable to Initio's hero franchise "Side Effect | Initio". Tobacco might not be listed, but the combination of woods, ambers and patchouli clearly offers that same feeling with the only discrepancy being Il Padrino's lack of cinnamon. That sweet-spicy DNA is at first opposed by a well-executed fruity contrast, but on my skin, that fruitiness is not as pronounced as it is in the sample vial nor on the strip. I'd say that fruitiness is a bit like the opening on Clive Christian's XXI: Art Deco - Blonde Amber, i.e. it has that dried fruity amber smell with no clear indication of what the fruit is. Comparisons to scents like Red Tobacco and Triumph of Bacchus have some legs, driven by the tobacco-adjacent nuances smelling a bit like product in that realm, but I wouldn't say those are the main comps here.

Deeper into the heart and the dry-down, the little fruitiness that you do get on skin has completely dissipated and the product that we arrive at smells even more like Initio's "Side Effect | Initio". Everything about it screams Initio, even down to the poorly executed hedione base featured in Side Effect and the amberwoods that Initio has previously utilized in Blessed Baraka. Beyond the 30 minute mark, I'd say the scent doesn't develop any further with the on-skin blending lacking quality, but that is a criticism that I also have for Side Effect so I don't want to make it sound like Il Padrino is alone in not delivering a smooth execution. The performance ratings on the scent are very inflated as I get average-to-moderate sillage with around 8 hours of longevity, but there's one other thing that is even more inflated here: the actual rating itself.

Back in 2023, Parfums de Marly released Althaïr and to this day, Althair is rated highly both on Parfumo and in the general community. However, when Althair came out, the ratings were even more inflated: I notoriously remember the time when Althair was in the same situation that Il Padrino is now as Althair had ~400 ratings on a 9.0/10 rating. I was among the first 100 to arrive at the scene and one of a very few to highlight that the scent itself, a poorly-executed laundry detergent orange blossom & vanilla ice cream combination inspired by Club Black and/or Sculpture, was miles off the true estimate.

Alas, we arrive at an epiphany: as far as the Parfumo community is concerned, Il Padrino is 2025's version of Althaïr. That isn't a criticism of neither scent, but rather the community as a whole, esp. those offering quantifiable assessments. To put it more harshly, the semi-casual audience/community rating fragrances on here is full of useless hacks who think sensationalist coverage of product is a rational approach to rating product. Fragrances feature an overt selection bias - when I started my journey, I assume I would've placed mainstream niche products in the near-flawless tier as well, driven by the conceivable upgrade from mainstream designer. You can only rate something relative to what you've experienced. However, the community on here is at a more advanced stage than any day-one beginner and with that come expectations for objective coverage, especially since the broader fragrance community (read: influencers) has a tendency to abuse ratings. Ultimately, I find myself wondering whether the people on here are actually making any progress in their fragrance journey, allowing them to find product that is actually flawless or near-flawless, or if they are still stuck in the same beginner stage that I was in approx. 5 years ago.

The word "padrino," or "godfather," immediately brings to mind the 1972 movie, of mafiosos in tailored Italian suits committing heinous crimes yet still remaining suave and sophisticated. The marketing of this fragrance claims it "embodies the essence of a man who commands his destiny, one who understands the intricate dance of power and influence," yet I don't think it does at all. And it certainly doesn't remind me of suave Italian gangsters from the 1970s.

The sweetness and fruitiness is overpowering. This is not a gentleman sitting in a smoky bar enjoying a rum cocktail with a splash of blackcurrant bitters, this is spring break and the girlies are clinking their fruity pina coladas and mai tais with multicolored umbrellas sticking out of them. At first I thought I tried the wrong sample. I ordered a bunch of summery tropical fruity samples alongside some Sospiros, and I thought they mislabeled them. This is not dark at all but fresh. The fruitiness is not a syrupy dark blackcurrant but vibrant and crisp. Finally I did get a bit of the "Side Effect | Initio"/Carlisle vibe and realized it was in fact the correct sample but that DNA is definitely not front and center. I did enjoy this fragrance, but I think it is far too sweet. The name is extremely off theme as well. If you try Il Padrino expecting classy and reserved elegance, you're going to be disappointed. It is playful, flirty, in-your-face with its fruity sweetness. Longevity is amazing, I was still easily smelling this 10 hours in.

First smelled this perfume around the time it was released. Back then, I had just started getting into fragrances — I didn’t know much, but I was really curious. When I first tried it on paper, I remember thinking, “Wow, what is this?!”
Later, it was out of stock in my country for quite a while. After trying around 50–60 niche perfumes, I finally sprayed it on my wrist one day. Its performance was genuinely impressive, and at the time it felt very high-quality, with a fruity character.
However, after smelling around 200–300 niche fragrances (maybe even more), I revisited it — and I just couldn’t like it anymore. It came across as overly sweet.
I think this perfume is perfect for someone who’s used to designer scents and hasn’t explored many niche ones yet. Everyone I let smell it — even people who aren’t into perfumes — really liked it.
But now, to me, it’s way too sweet. And that’s coming from someone who actually enjoys gourmand fragrances. I tried to like it more because of its high Parfumo rating (8.9), but honestly, it doesn’t deserve that score. It’s not a bad fragrance, but definitely not as great as people claim. But its rating has started to drop (8.7), and it’s finally reaching the level it actually deserves.
In my opinion, the score it truly deserves is around 8.4.

The opening of this scent is absolutely gorgeous! It starts as a boozy blackcurrant scent with a touch of amaretto. I wish it had stayed this way! I’d have bought a full bottle in an instant.

As it dries down, the labdanum takes over creating a leather like note which gets stronger. The rest of the notes fade and the boozy blackcurrant sits in the background.

This is still a gorgeous scent and perfectly unisex, but not something I could wear personally. Leather just isn’t my thing, so the Labdanum ruined this one for me. This could easily have been my no.1 favourite scent ever, if it just didn’t have Labdanum in it. Maybe it’ll grow on me.

Boozy almond with fruity blackcurrant to open leading to a very pretty amber heart and a leathery labdanum backbone with increasing vanilla sweetness over the dry down. Hint of opening synthetics but fades away. The blackcurrant remains resilient for awhile which brings it very close to and, arguably, over the edge as the vanilla sweetness cascades in intensity.

Fall and winter seasonal. Masculine lean. Matches well for evening affairs. Strong performance and sillage.

The fruity-sweet combination battling with the ambery-leather heart and base is opulent in construction. However, I think this fragrance looks for the edge but eventually goes over it with its intensity - a powerful yet still youthful, brash godfather.