Vis Et Honor by O'Driù, 2011

Obscurantism, Highlands Clans' riots, fortified castles, bascule bridges and Holy Inquisition in a bottle. The barbarian warriors are resting on the board of the cave while dreadful clouds start to thicken over their heads. Molecules of smoke, resins, furs and musks of the wood swirl in the air. Extremely compelling leathery-incensey dope of absinthe, anise, aromatic-minty leaves and obscure animal-woody notes with the ordinary O'Driu's boozy and smoky patterns. The brewage of chemomile, bergamot, laurel and thyme represents the backbone of the sinister recipe (a backbone rooted over a base of final vetiver), ulteriorly darkened by a complex congeries of otherworldly elements and by the smoke of the medieval battles. Wonderful and epic. The benning is soon medicinal and medieval, alchemic and esoteric. Obscure herbs, heavy clouds and ancient ingredients ( witchs' recipes) are melted in a scary amalgam. I catch arcane leathery-animal notes, aromatic herbs, chamomile, secret musks-mosses and smoky-peppery incense since from the first explosion. I detect the chamomile-mimosa tandem in the chaos of the top notes oily background and it is notable to me. In this phase a starring duo made of laurel and myrtle (turned utterly minty by notes of juniper berries and may be artemisia) climbs on the stage before a final chord made by a boozy almond syrup-wormwood accord, dark-green viscouse galbanum, castoreum and incense drags the smell towards a more harmonious darkness of the forest. The pepper (cardamom) on the side of some aromatic herbs of the wood hold on till the end to envelop the elements while a final vetiver starts to disclose its substance at the end of the trip when the storm subsides and the diverse sparks of smell dance in harmony over a green (vetiver) bed. The final outcome is a poem of far epochs and a masterwork of olfactory art from Mr. Pregoni.

Vis et Honor opens with a challenging combination of olive, chamomile, green chlorophyll and an almost sharp green semi-animallic undertone that I can't quite put my finger on. It is inspired and somewhat off-putting at the same time. During this phase I found myself both intrigued and somewhat shocked all in one... Then the scent moved to the heart notes which are much less shocking, and quite frankly very impressive... I get a much stronger dose of the olive I detected at the scent's open, coupled with some spices including saffron and maybe some cardamom, finally adding some green lichen from the base notes making their way into the heart notes as well. The base notes combine the lichen with wormwood and incense, while still a hint of the olive remains, adding just a bit of sharp green saltiness to the base. The scent is very green in nature generally from start to finish, but it is also quite unique and I am sure I am not doing all the notes justice as there appears to be quite a bit of them, and the combination is extremely innovative. Projection and longevity are average. The opening notes were quite the shocker, not from a perspective as they were "bad," but rather there is an undertone to the opening that is almost green and animallic at the same time. This accord I don't think I have ever smelled before and it really has me guessing as to what exactly it is I am smelling... Once you get past the quizzical opening, in the heart notes I encountered a bit of the O'driu hallmark pattern, but with a much more astringent green spin to it. Just like many of the other O'driu scents, the base notes really finish off the scent with a strong showing. To sum things up, Pregoni has done even better work than Vis et Honor, but while I would say this scent is "middle of the pack" for O'driu, that is "top of the heap" for almost everyone else. I give Vis et Honor a solid recommendation and 4 out of 5 stars. Excellent!

Vis et Honor's opening is like a 33rpm record played a 75rpm. A remarkable lavender note plays solo for a few seconds as a soprano voice to immediately introduce a full-size orchestra performing an hyper-virtuoso and majestic piece of symphonic music. All the elements are clear and perfectly orchestrated by Pregoni who's able to show in the first three minutes what his true potential is. In the front we clearly hear the strings together with the woodwinds that go from astringent artemisia, laurel, mint, citruses and mimosa while on the right side of the stage the brass instruments start to play piney notes, spices, thyme, oreganum and chamomille contributing to a crescendo that is quite breathtaking. This is the topic moment of the opera, the tension is very high when the drums and all other percussion intruments such as castoreum, tonka beans, incense, mosses, other resins and vetiver start to beat time faster, louder and deeper to finally reach the gran finale which leaves the theatre with a warm, enveloping and endless echo...Epic. Standing ovation. Smoky, spicy, emotional, animalic, rough, complex, visceral, balmy, exclusive, herbal, evocative, brutal, poisonous, ancestral, invigorating, natural, aromatic, edgy, elitary, full-bodied, powerful, solid...recommended.