Pegaso (2009)
by Etro

Etro’s fragrance line has been unusually consistent in style and quality: honest, well-balanced, and straightforward compositions using first class ingredients in clear and coherent olfactory structures. At their best – as in Shaal Nur, Patchouli, Vetiver, or Palais Jamais - they have a winning directness about them. At their worst – say Sandalo or Anice – they are stolid, plain and just a bit too predictable.

Pegaso, sad to say, falls in with the second lot. It is essentially a traditional eau de Cologne-type composition with an herbal twist, a gambit that’s been played at least a thousand times since Eau Sauvage appeared in the mid 1960s. A new fragrance has do something bold indeed to make this formula fresh. Déclaration did it with aggressively applied cumin, Lubin’s L’Eau Neuve did it with conspicuous moss and an understated animalic accent, and Parfum d’Empire’s Eau de Gloire did it with a luxurious leather. Pegaso’s herbs and labdanum base note are not enough to distinguish it in this company. Its most compelling feature is a realistic basil top note, but that doesn’t persist long enough to sustain a unique identity. Once the basil fades Pegaso is just one among many well-crafted but unremarkable citrus blends set on a slightly mossy, woody foundation. Yes, it smells smooth and natural, but at $145 US for 100 ml, I can’t in good conscience recommend it over Eau Sauvage, Cristalle, or any of the Acqua di Parma Colonia variants.