Havana by Aramis, 1994

Exotic and sultry charm, cigars, panamas, fiestas, rum, caribbean sensuality, fascinating gentlemen white clothed and more, all in a bottle. This is a wonderful, puzzling, exotic, spicy, humid concoction that will never be out of my collection. Its tornado of whirling elements is really able to project the caribbean atmosphere and the latin rhythms better than any other scent out there. I prefer it to Cuba C&S which is another great creation and which with Havana shares many elements as rum, tobacco, flowers, citruses (and may be a licorice-mint-anice accord), cedarwood, spices and others. Havana is powerful and very masculine but it's overall exotic and evocative with its strong link of tobacco-patchouli blended with spicy rum. The fragrance preserves the colonial spirit of the old Habana and evokes the images of white clothed men smoking cigars, busy in their exotic productive enterprises or in the trade of commodities, men full of charm in the sunny caribbean  days along the Malecon, near massive spanish buildings or in front of Bodeguita del Medio while are engaged in talking with brown curvaceous women. The starting raucous blast is like a fist of dry fruits, watery hesperides, Camphoraceous-aromatic notes  (birtch, juniper berries, coriander and anise) and spices. The impression is devastating, is like to be broken off by a running train and as soon as you inhale the first spray you can immediately smell even bitter tobacco, pepper and earthy patchouli rising from the background. The random motion of dissonant elements nevertheless starts soon to take a  previously determined dimension as a puzzle that starts to reproduce a definite figure. The floral middle smell of liqueur starts to sweeten the herbaceous bitter and rooty initial whiff while a moderate cumin and other spices impress a touch of exoticism to the mix. The scent starts to get the outcome of a bitter digestive liquor with the tobacco aftertaste already perceivable. The base notes set structure, texture and a bit of smoothness to a yet rough and exotic blend of elements. Exotic woods and cedarwood set stableness and balance, tonka, tobacco and patchouli rise up impressing earthy boldness and evocative masculinity while balsams as myrrh, vanilla, oliban and labdan infuse the right dosage of smoothness ad mildness closing the round of this complex juice. The outcome, many hours later, is a surprisingly mellow smell of crushed tobacco with the boldness of patchouli and the spicy nuances of rum. Longevity and sillage are impressive on my skin.