Guerlain's
Tonka Impériale, "between gingerbread and chocolate," food-loving Sylvaine Delacourte puts it, as pleasing as Cologne du 68 but executed at a level of quality and restrain that brings forth sensory effects of exquisite Parisian leather goods and fine cigars. A pine note adds to the gingerbread aroma and its accompanying atmosphere of fireplaces and furred walks in snowy winter woods. Like the previous L'Art et la Matière fragrances, Tonka Impériale doesn't have much of a development once applied, although the opening bergamot-rosemary-almond-jasmine accord has its own brandied vibe, a soberer variant of Jean-Paul Guerlain's boozy Spiritueuse Double Vanille.