Reviews of Clubman (1880)
by Truefitt & Hill

Clubman is like a weak Polo Sport or CK Be cologne with a lot of mint. I don't get aquatic here, I get fresh or sporty type however. I am not a lover of overpowering mint in colognes, smelling like spearmint gum is just not my thing.

Thumbs down for lack of originality, and excessive use of mint to try to cover up that lack of originality.

I don’t care for Clubman. I agree with zztopp and others. The synthetic/oceanic note here is not pleasant, and I find that it muddles the other elements. There is a pleasant citrus opening. The mint is not as strong as in Freshman. The woody musk is probably the nicest element, but that doggone ‘plasticky’ element ruins this. I’m not sure what this is supposed to be: it is not fresh enough in a nice way to be a fresh scent, not woody or spice enough to be that sort of scent, in the end it is nothing much at all. T&H has some great scents (Grafton in particular, also Trafalgar) but this is not one of them.

The notes list sounded like it was right up my alley. And initially it was. Unfortunately it just doesn't hold up well. The citrus is extremely fleeting. The mint is a little too powerful. The floral notes are too weak. The oceanic note is too synthetic, like zztop mentioned. And finally the woody base is overtaken by the kind of soapy-synthetic musk I don't like. Clubman is a great concept that was executed in a weak and cheap-smelling way. If I were to compare it to any other juice, it would be Erolfa, but by no means is it anywhere near Erolfa in quality, blend complexity and tenacity/sillage.

Official description: "A fresh aromatic characterized by citrus, mint and a crisp oceanic accord enhanced by fresh florals, woods and musk"

Really? An oceanic accord in the 1880s? To the best of my knowledge, the molecule responsible for oceanic accord ("calone") was discovered by Pfizer in 1966, and since the late 80s has been used in a zillion teen-ho frags. My guess is that the "oceanic" accord in Clubman is probably accomplished using geranium (it smells a bit similar to Amouage Arcus)

One would think that a citrus fragrance released in the late 1800s (from a respected british barbershop) would smell clean, simple and distinguished. Not so. Clubman starts off smelling pleasant, if quite unexciting. The subdued citrus and mint notes create a relaxed feel, before your nose rudely assaulted by an extremely common and synthetic ("plasticky") smelling "noise" in the perfume. Yes, this is the same cheap clumsily incorporated "oceanic" note which can be found in many drugstore fragrances (unless its geranium). Thats the extent of evolution in Clubman; its like A-to-Z from citrus+mint to "chemical juice". There are far too many superior aquatic and marine fragrances - a little known fragrance by the name of Acqua Di Gio is one of them.