Bowling Green (1986)
by Geoffrey Beene

I adore this fragrance. The mid notes of cardamom and cinnamon are absolutely awesome and something I will never tire of and the drydown, well, there is no other way to describe it other that it is simply amazing, period.

One thing is for sure, from start to finish, this is a winner. Hands down, my favourite of the Geoffrey Beene collection.

A huge thumbs up!

This is my absolute favorite! I was so sad when I found out it was discontinued. From the opening blast of citrus/juniper/grass to the more subdued but still vibrant drydown, I love it. I am still able to find a few bottles here and there at perfumania and places like that, so I still have enough to last me quite awhile, but I do miss the soap, aftershave, etc.

I still can't find anything to replace it!

Interesting fragrance. I used it for a few years. It was a nice clean, brisk scent for men. It reminded me very much of a more citrusy version of Drakkar Noir however, a bit more "lively". I preferred Bowling Green over Drakkar Noir without a doubt. Sorry it was discontinued.

One of the defining openings in men’s designer fragrances—there’s no doubting that this is Bowling Green. That sparkling citrus-juniper blast hits like the double gin gimlet it olfactorily echoes. Very fresh, very bright, and meadowland green. The spices and floral of the middle are quite restrained and the coniferous pine comes through in full force. A regular walk through a pine forest — so clean and clear you can almost see the Nuthatches hopping down the trees trunks. The top to middle movement is smooth and there is little discernible break except that you suddenly realize that you are smelling traces of lavender and nutmeg instead of citrus. But the accords are quite similar — Bowling Green is essentially a linear fragrance. And the linearity continues through the base: Now the fir and cedar takes over the coniferous duties. Since fir is often less sharp and more mellow than juniper or pine, and since the other base notes are the 80’s traditional amber, sandalwood, patchouli, and moss, the dry down loses much of the coniferous sharpness that the top and middle notes have carried so long. The dry down is subtle — rich and subtle and it has great longevity. It is gentler than the typical 80’s drydown, making Bowling Green — at least its drydown — easier to wear today than many of the 80’s classics. An all-around excellent fragrance — it is both warm and cool and is appropriate any season. Love it!

All the reviews are right, but for those unable to track it down, I would highly recommend Eau de Rochas Homme. It's much more fleeting, but the first few minutes, then hour, are worth the rather expensive admission price. Initially similar to BG (but better), with gin and sparkling limeade tones, EDRH gently fades and stays constant, whereas BG fades to peppery spice and lasts quite a while longer. Both are 2 of the best lemon / lime concoctions. Monsieur Balmain (a great lemon and liquorice blend), also hard to find, and Acqua di Parma (a great lemon and rose combi) are also both recomended.

If you could bottle the essence of “stuffy” you would end up with Bowling Green. I don’t fully understand why I get such a visceral reaction when I spray this, since I love its predecessor, now THERE is a worthy aromatic.

With Bowling Green, I immediately pick up the fresh citrus early on, but then the middle notes kick in quickly and whew…talk about a woody mess. I get lots of pine and cedar and moss and nothing to balance this, nothing to bring it back to sanity because to me the patchouli is meek and the cinnamon is stale, and it’s not just my bottle either, I tested one in a GB store and I got the same unpleasant odor. Sometimes a so-called classic is just old and not great simply because it is from the 80s or has discontinued. Bowling Green proves that point since it smells like my grandmother’s closet where she would keep all the old woolen blankets and a copious amount of moth balls.