I FINALLY GOT A VIAL OF TOBACCO HONEY! it feels like i've obtained a forbidden potion of youth—i don't know. i've been obsessing over this one since december last year, and i was going to blind buy it. i didn't but i managed to get a vial of it at last. i don't see many people talking about it in general, plus i don't read what i would hope would be said about it. anyway i'm here now.

guerlain l'art et la matiere tobacco honey

notes: honey, tobacco, vanilla, tonka bean, sesame, aniseed, clove, sandalwood, oud

opening & dry down

it feels like i took a sip of jack daniel’s tennessee honey. i am a whiskey man so i love what first hits me. the honey states itself immediately with support of cloves and anise which also hints the tobacco to come. the honey is very, very warm and powdery. the powder is borderline suffocating, but i am sensitive to powder. i am not a fan because it feels like i cannot breathe but at the opening of tobacco honey it is not strong.

the honey definitely stays through its entirety. the tobacco on the other hand slowly peaks through, and it stays very quiet. it’s mainly here to make the honey not so sweet. working with the vanilla and the woods, the tobacco creates an earthy smell.

when we settle the tobacco is more prominent yet still quiet. the mix of both is very rich with a lot of support from the powder. the powder has become a lot more powerful. for me it is borderline suffocating, but it is tolerable. it supports the honey properly without becoming a nuisance that i want to wash off.

in the end…

its entirety is a strong raw honey with the dirtiness of tobacco to calm it down. it reminds of smoked glass of honey whiskey served neat. go well crafted and aged, but light whiskey that has honey liqueur blended in poured into a wood and tobacco smoked glass. all remains throughout its life—the honey sweet, and the tobacco dirty. the powder from sweetness from the vanilla and honey, and the spice and wood paired with the tobacco end up dispersing. the power, spice and wood almost end up being silenced. they blend and float off, but they still support the tobacco and honey fantastically.

i understand why this would be considered great for the autumn and winter. the warmth of the honey naturally fits the essence of the cooler months, and the tobacco’s richness along with how dry and dirty it is, is comforting. heat makes the honey sweeter—the cold makes the tobacco more pronounced.

10/10