Town & Country by Crown Perfumery, 1925

Town & Country is a quintessential English fragrance featuring pine, pepper, woods, herbs, spices, and musk. Town & Country was surely inspired by Blenheim Bouquet, but is one of those rare occasions where the inspired is superior to the inspiration. Crown certainly had a fragrance called Town & Country that was released in 1925, but who knows what that one smelled like as Crown was out of business by the Second World War. Crown was revived by new owners in 1993 who set out to recreate traditional English fragrances using traditional craftsmanship and high quality ingredients. Blenheim Bouquet tends to give me headaches with its synthetic edges. Crown's quality and largely natural ingredients do not offend. It is austere, spicy, woody, and musky--and I like it a lot. Town & Country is the scent of an uppercrust Victorian aristocrat who has no humor and no expression. It's also a lot cheaper than Blenheim to boot.

A wonderfully English rendition of green herbacity, Scarborough Fair with lavender taking the place (thankfully) of parsely. It's close to Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet, with a stronger emphasis on the bitter-green herbals and less citrus, it's austerity making it quite unique and excentric in the contemporary fragrance landscape. No florals, no sweets, no fruit (God forbid). I love it, but like Eau de Quinine from this house, it's an acquired taste that will suit nostalgic Anglophiles in particular. The quality of the materials is impeccable, it is worth noting.

Hard to find since it has been discontinued, yet it holds a certain appeal. Crown had a knack to taking the essence of a scent and reproducing it at a lower cost and with greater power and tenacity. That is true here, as it recalls somewhat Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet. This is a big, full-bodied scent. The opening emphasizes herbal lavender and other herbal notes such as clary sage rather than the lemon which is so notable in BB. The scent is more aromatic than previous two; and in fact is a bit acidic/sour. Surprisingly, the lemon note develops later. T&C is not as complex and refined as BB, in fact it is a bit rougher and greener. It still is a worthy scent.

A Blenheim Bouquet clone was my first though, too. This one is a little spicier in the top.

I will say: a look-a-like of "Blenheim Bouquet" by Penhaligo's