From Bourbon to Cologne

There was a time not too long ago where I was a bourbon drinker. Scratch that. Bourbon taster. I didn’t drink to get drunk, I drank for the taste. I loved to examine the quality of the bourbon and try to decipher its notes. There was the nose, this is the part where you sniff your whiskey and determine some of these notes. Of course, there is taste, where you actually enjoy the whiskey in your mouth, getting the full flavor of the liquid. Then there is the finish. A sort of spot of what you can taste after you have swallowed your drink. Some notes are more intense than others.

I decided to stop drinking about eight months ago or so. I became pretty jaded at the bourbon community with its constant pressure of FOMO on bottles I will hardly ever see, and if I did, it would be at a 5X markup on secondary which is, in my estimation, never worth it. Content creators and people with connections constantly bragging about their unicorn bottles and stores price gouging their customers. It was gross and I woke up. The people turned me against bourbon, for now.

I somehow ended up for a short time being interested in candles shortly after. Another hobby where I get to train myself to detect notes and enjoy scents (1/3 of bourbon was the nosing of the glass, how it smells). It was relaxing and carried over pretty well. Well, after a few months of that, I decided to try better smelling soap and got a bottle of Cremo Palo Santo body wash and I quite liked it. My fiancé also liked it and remarked about how good I smelled. Well, low and behold, a lightbulb went off.

The next day I bought Cremo Palo Santo cologne, hoping to replicate the scent in a more long-lasting version than a body wash scent that disappears in what only seems to be minutes. A new hobby was born, or rather an obsession. I found myself researching about colognes like what does EdT mean and what are the notes for Cremo Palo Santo? One thing led to another and I quickly discovered there are products out there for you to actually buy samples (yes, I am aware you can go to stores already). If only they had this for bourbon, I could save hundreds of dollars on below-average whiskey.

I quickly found the transfer of, for lack of a better term, skill from developing my palate from bourbon to identifying notes of a cologne fairly easy. Not that I am a professional now, but that might be my favorite thing about this particular hobby: dissecting the smell and admiring the transition through all three phases of the scent, much like bourbon. Nosing the drink - the top notes, drinking the drink - the heart notes, the finish of the drink - the base notes. It just makes sense to me and the journey of a sip or an application of a cologne can be incredible.

I searched all over for which scents to start off with and stumbled upon Reddit and browsed there to get a sense of what is popular. I ended up getting a handful of designer scents, which was exciting, but so youthful smelling. Stuff like Dior Sauvage and Versace Dylan Blue. Therein was my first mistake. I’m in my late 40s and I didn’t realize I am looking through Reddit at what mostly people much younger were wearing. After a few shipments of the typical designer stuff that I found either too sweet or too youthful. My first purchase was Montblanc Explorer and to my young nose, I really liked it at the time. Several more purchases based on samples I liked came in and I was in heaven. Each one better than the last. I have a nice little collection, but nothing I could call “my scent” or that “signature scent”. They are all just good.

I decided that good wasn’t good enough, or I would just end up with a closet full of good but fairly average scents. I decided to get picky. I researched more and more, still looking to scratch that fragrance itch. What do I really like? What am I really looking for? What would I want to wear?

This all created a formula for myself. The scent, upon sampling, has to absolutely blow me out of the water. That is the new standard. It has to be that good from now on. I wasn’t going to accept anything less than that. I work too hard for my money to go to a bottle that will simply collect dust. I want a shelf full of top-shelf stuff, not a closet full of bottom and mid-shelf stuff.

I also found out what scents I truly do like versus what the internet-social media hype machine keeps talking about. I inadvertently blazed my own trail, free from all the noise of the most talked-about scent of the week. I discovered I lean more into classic and vintage-styled scents, more akin to vintage styled Fougères and Chypres than the slick and modern scents of today. I was missing my mark for months, only to now lean into these kinds of scents and really pairing down my tastes. You can keep your lightning bolt, robot, and upper torso bottles, and I will keep my mossy vintage bombs of yesteryear.

So, the journey for me has been interesting so far, as short as it has been. I’m actually pairing my little collection down to make room for the ones I want to own and, more importantly, get excited to wear. Who would have thought going from bourbon to cologne would be so fun?