Strawanza Wiener Schurken

The Strawanza from the Viennese rogues was practically a must-try for me, as a little fougère lover and having lived in Vienna for a few years. Old-school vibes without appearing old-fashioned, an absolutely fair price-performance ratio with an interesting image and, on top of that, it can also be used as an after-shave... it all sounds very promising. Now living back in Germany, I am of course no longer able to "dance" through Vienna's nightlife on a regular basis, so I would have liked to have bought a bottle as a nice reminder of times gone by. A little over a year ago, the time had come and I had to make another trip to Vienna for work, which I promptly used to pop into the not-so-centrally located store of Viennese rogues in the 18th district.

The couple who run the store were absolutely friendly and visibly surprised and delighted that someone from Germany was looking for a direct route to their store because of their Strawanza. During the conversation, I naturally asked how they got hold of a recipe from 1953 and what it was all about. If I took it correctly from the conversation with the store owner, the trail probably leads to Alt-Innsbruck - Eau de Cologne. The fact that the homepage of Kosmetik R. Neuner also sells Strawanza as pretty much the only fragrance alongside its Alt-Innsbruck probably confirms the suspicion that Strawanza was not the work of complete strangers.

About the fragrance: As soon as I sprayed it on for the first time in the store, it became clear that I had a different idea of Strawanza. Even though it may technically be a fougère, I tend to associate this type of fragrance with a fresh, green aftershave sharpness or, if they are milder and sweeter, at least with a certain soapiness. Neither was the case here, but a pithy, slightly earthy spiciness was perceptible. At the same time, the olfactory memory computer rattled... somehow it seemed pleasantly familiar. The store owner was kind enough to give me a sample and a greeting card and so I left the store with my fragrance strip. As soon as I had left the store, it suddenly hit me: this note, strongly reminiscent of bitter gingerbread, made me think of Blackpepper, which I really like. I like this prominent peppery note very much, but due to my existing acquaintance with Blackpepper, the "wow experience" (which I had with this one) did not happen with Strawanza. Overall, Blackpepper seems to me to be a bit more refined and deeply elaborated. It seems fresher, more potent, more valuable, deeper and also a little more extravagant to me, which is why I would reach for this one if in doubt. For me, Strawanza opens with a rather restrained mint and briefly comes up trumps with something earthy (patchouli) and spicy (a little clove and a lot of pepper), with some resinousness (labdanum) perceptible in the background. However, it quickly becomes softer and warmer and settles down to a dominant pepper note with a very subtle sweetness (probably musk and tonka).

Conclusion: Undoubtedly a pleasant, quite distinctive men's fragrance that fulfills its promise of being a rather classic, but not old-fashioned fragrance for me. The homepage warns that Strawanza can exert an almost magnetic attraction on the other person. The few female feedbacks I asked for were also rather positive, but not exuberant. I also had to ask for it because his projection is rather reserved and after a short time he sits rather close to the skin, which doesn't bother me too much. Furthermore, for me it is a rather spicy-woody fragrance and not a classic green-fresh fougère with a certain sharpness. That's not a bad thing, but I simply like the Blackpepper a lot better in this category. One last point of criticism could be that for a real Strawanza and rum driver, a little more "angularity" would have been good. A little "dirt", smoke, leather or "boozyness" would have suited the theme and definitely underlined the street and rogue image.