Cuba Red
by Cuba Paris

Miss the fiery tobacco smell of Aramis' Havana? Then you have to score a bottle of Cuba Red, which is hands-down the bargain of the century. Although it lacks the complexity and longevity of Havana, it has the same vibe - it's a rich, spicy, slightly sweet, smokin' tobacco scent that has hot blood running through its veins. Whereas Creed's classic Tabarome brings to mind the image of an aristocrat somberly smoking a pipe in his personal library on a rainy day, Cuba Red brings to mind mariachi bands, tequila shots and loud partying and hell-raising in the night. Cuba Red just smells like Latin passion, raw and unbridled.

The most amazing thing is that can you get 1.1 oz. of this great juice in an incredibly cool, cigar-shaped bottle, for a mere four dollars!

Sold by a company called Fragluxe: take a look at their website and you'll find such gems as not one but two Cool Water knockoffs, complete with the same handwriting--"Cool Dude" and "Cool Off," as well as others such as "Career Man" in a Preferred Stock-esque bottle. Pathetic to be sure, but . . .

But then there's Cuba. It's shocking how good this is, coming from such questionable roots. At first, there's a slight perfume note, almost alcoholic. Once that blows away, I became lost in the feeling of having opened a packet of Amphora tobacco. I don't smoke anymore, and one of reasons I did in the first place was just how nice good tobacco like Drum or Amphora smelled. This cheap cologne gives me exactly that, and more. There's also a slight cherry-cocoa lingering behind the tobacco sweetness. But despite the pipe tobacco scent, it has a certain dryness, more like a cigar. It's almost dusty.

I think it's very nicely balanced with oakmoss, so it's not sickly sweet. No one element is very prominent. After drydown it seems intermittent between the cherry hit, the tobacco, and the oakmoss. Quite flat, yes, but at least the point at which it flattens is a very pleasant and tasteful one. I'll be checking out the other Cuba versions for sure.

I am now certain that Cuba's strategy for creating perfumes is to take a concept (sometimes an entire fragrance) that has already been done well and attempt to do it better at a reduced price. Cuba Red is immediately remindful of Burberry London, though it lacks the underlying tone of booze (port wine). This distinction proves important as CR is subsequently dominated by a smooth, smokey, woody tobacco note supported by some spices. I find this aroma, though simple, to be soothing and calming. I enjoy wearing this during the evening around the house, but I plan to begin wearing this out during the evening as it is not off-putting. I suspect that it will even garner favorable feedback from those around me. Its light but has sufficient projection and is excellent for combining with other fragrances to give them a more masculine edge. For example, I have layered this with Paul Smith London (which results in something very similar to Burberry London due to PSL's bourbon) and have found that it gives the base more ruggedness. CR lasts about 5 hrs on my skin, which is good enough considering the price ($4.99 for 35ml).

This is a strong, pungent, aromatic, wood / spice fragrance. It seems to be basically linear. Its single accord is dominated by cedar with a deep, dark spice combination creating the aromatics and providing support. There is detectable patchouli, which further contributes to Red’s density… The patchouli is shadowy to my nose, and it is probably the lightest element in the whole composition. Cuba Red is heavy and a bit unyielding and it would be much more interesting if it also exhibited some movement or adaptability. Linearity isn’t always a bad thing in a fragrance, but in the case of Cuba Red, I find it a bit boring. Its boredom, however, is reduced by its lack of longevity. (Edit of 29 August 2006 review. Changed from Thumbs down.)

Burnt tobacco and some woods. This reminds more of Remy Latour's Cigar rather than M7 or Burberry London. M7 has a strange mintiness to it from the agarwood and Burberry London is boozy. This may be a mixture of the three. Cheap yet different from the other Cuba "knock-offs". It's as if the perfumer said "let's take some popular scents and make them better." (i.e. Cuba Gold smells like a "better" Le Male) Interesting and cheap.

I wouldn't compare this to Carven Homme or M7 at all. Actually, it's about as close to Burberry London for men as I could possibly imagine. CH is ambery, with nice rosewood, and a bit of sweetness. M7 is powdery, with oud and a bit of a raspberry scent in the background. Cuba Red is not sweet, has a bit of succulence though (citrus?), and is grounded in cedar. It's very spicy, but dry. If you can sample Burberry London at your local mall, do that first, then I'd suggest buying Cuba Red (I got a 4.2 ounce bottle for less than $10), if you like BL and are on a budget. I like CR, but I like others more at this point, so this is a once a fortnight or once a month frag for me.