Posted 03 May 2011 - 06:16 PM
Origin:
5mL from the Lab.
Preconceived notions:
I was excited to try Captain Cully based on the Will Call reviews. When it went live on the site, I immediately ordered a bottle even though the porter worries me. I'm not much of a fan of the smell of beer, although I gather that dark beers like porter have a different smell to them, so I'm open-minded.
First sniff:
It has to be the porter I'm smelling. Like I said before, I've never smelled it (the real thing or as a note in perfume), but somehow it's immediately recognizable. It's a sweet, dark brown scent. Not really boozy or alcoholic, instead it's got a sort of malted scent to it. I also get a tiny bit of wood and leather, but it's mainly porter.
Wet on skin:
The leather shows up more at this point. That tends to happen when I wear leather scents with other strong notes. It doesn't show up in the bottle, spikes when it hits my skin and then dies back down, so I'm expecting it to fade again.
At this point, it's a worn, brown leather scent with sweet, malty porter (I think the tonka may be blending with it and amping the sweetness a bit).
Dry down:
I actually love this. A lot. The leather has died back down again and I'm left with a smooth, sweet, malty, musky brown scent. It's got hints of wood and leather, but everything blends together so well that it's hard to pick out individual notes.
The bottom line:
I'm glad I took a chance on this in spite of the porter. Evidently, I actually like the smell of dark beer. Captain Cully is bordering on making its way into my favorites box and it may end up in there at some point. :heart: