Hammam Bouquet (2nd Opinion) (Penhaligon's)

Guest review by Normand

Hammam Bouquet was launched in 1872 by Penhaligon’s of London and if they haven’t messed around with the original scent too much, we are given a privileged insight into the olfactory tastes of the men (and women) of England’s late Victorian period.

At first, Hammam Bouquet comes off as a dense but fresh floral with bracing bergamot, luscious lavender and the two floral staples of french perfumery… rose and jasmine. Up to now, HB is as full-bodied as a shiraz and as fresh as any lavender-laced fougère. The scent is absolutely opaque… there’s no question in my mind as to the ingredients nor their quality. Yet as we go forward, the fresher notes recede and we are left with a funereal deep red rose note and two of the most animalic notes in perfumery today - deer-scent musk and schizophrenic civet – that now-synthetic molecule originally collected from the anal glands of cats which both repels and attracts. My only explanation for this attraction to civet is that it is a remnant within our reptilian brain. It is instinctive and Neanderthal.

Hammam Bouquet is by no means a modern scent. Neither the American influence of “soapy” perfumes nor the recent French trend towards minimalism is in sight. HB is high-octane juice from another era and another place…layered, complex and reeking of sexual innuendo. I love Hammam Bouquet in the same way I love the stinkiest of blue cheeses…mouth-watering in a perverted sort of way.

If someone were to ask me what Hammam Bouquet smelled like exactly, I’d say this. Take clean cotton briefs. Add just three ingredients - lavender oil, high-grade rose absolut and a splash of lemon juice. Give the underwear to a burly male rugby player and send him for a long walk in the midday heat through a luscious rain forest after a major downpour. When he returns add a touch more rose and you’ve got Hammam Bouquet…thick, dark, repulsive and delicious.

For me, Hammam Bouquet is a metaphor for the uptight, prudish Victorian man with his tight, woolen vested suit and hat. The most honourable morals are of the day and on the surface Victorian society could not appear more correct. Curvaceous furniture legs are covered by skirts so as not to “inflame the passions” and legend has it that Queen Victoria asked Brits not to have sex in public so as not to scare the horses.

But at the same time, we know that there is approximately 1 prostitute in London for every 12 men and London is referred to as the “whoreshop of the world”. Such is Hammam Bouquet. On the surface, the notes are as innocent as they get…fresh bergamot, antiseptic lavender, rose and jasmine. But a couple of hours later, we see Victorian men in a very different gas light… lusty, lascivious and predatory.

As a collection piece, Hammam Bouquet is a must. As a more wearable daytime alternative to the less floral and even more animalic Muscs Kublai Khan by Serge Lutens, HB is perfect. As an aphrodisiac for a night of lust with a partner who is not afraid of the dark, absolutely! As a first impression scent on a first date, it’s too risky. Better to go with a I-showered-earlier-just-in-case citrus (Bergamote by The Different Company or Chanel’s Cristalle).

Year: 1872
Perfumer: William Penhaligon
Notes: Lavender, Bergamot, Rose Otto, Cedarwood, Orris, Jasmine, Amber, Musk, Sandalwood

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