Clubman Special Reserve - Comparable to Creed REL?

[Featherweight]

Just ordered a bottle off Amazon. For $6 I really can't go wrong. I dislike vintage MEM English Leather and the latest reformulation, and really haven't come across an inexpensive leather fragrance that I like. I'm hoping the Clubman will be different.

But on BN (not really here) I see several members actually likening it to Creed Royal English Leather - like special reserve has a leather that can go toe to toe with one of the oldest Creeds. Does this Pinaud really have that kind of cache? Or are these just blithe assertions without a shred of merit . . . ?





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[DULLAH]

No.
Clubman Special Reserve has a huge oakmoss note (real oakmoss), and a disco era Patchouli/Cedar accord over a standard issue tonic/bitter EDC-style aftershave scent.

Creed's Royal English Leather starts with a huge foul old-as-dirt accord of dark, dirty nastiness, yet after some time drying reveals a very rich and sweet combination of spices, leather, fruits, and woods. Some say it smells of cough syrup, and this is true. But the cough syrup note is surrounded by so many high quality leather, spice and wood notes, that is is made pleasant, classy and masculine.

 

[Featherweight]

Real oakmoss, huh? Interesting. Regular clubman lists oakmoss (and treemoss) in its ingredients as well - guess that's the real thing, too.

However, your description of both frags somehow makes Special Reserve sound better than the Creed. I noticed you left the words and phrases "foul", "old-as-dirt", "dirty nastiness", and "cough syrup" out of your assessment of the Pinaud.

"disco-era patchouli/cedar" = patchouli as it was oriented to mainstream frags in the '70s. and the "standard issue" tonic is vague in a good way.

Which of the two - SR or REL - do you prefer?




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[DULLAH]

Real oakmoss, huh? Interesting. Regular clubman lists oakmoss (and treemoss) in its ingredients as well - guess that's the real thing, too.

However, your description of both frags somehow makes Special Reserve sound better than the Creed. I noticed you left the words and phrases "foul", "old-as-dirt", "dirty nastiness", and "cough syrup" out of your assessment of the Pinaud.

"disco-era patchouli/cedar" = patchouli as it was oriented to mainstream frags in the '70s. and the "standard issue" tonic is vague in a good way.

Which of the two - SR or REL - do you prefer?




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REL, by a gigantic margin.

 

[Featherweight]

Thanks for your opinion on this. Truthfully, I didn't think anything currently out by Pinaud could compare to a Creed, but the rumors do abound.

Now if you tell me SR doesn't smell much like English Leather, I'll consider it $6 well spent


By the way, Buzzlepuff over on BN writes: "Special Reserve . . . is a nice leather fragrance that I enjoy the scent of as much as many contemporary leather fragrances. It doesn't smell anything like English Leather and it is a type of scent that really never hit big in the states so it is still considered sort of new. Its major flaw is how weak it is! It smells very similar to Cuoio by Odori and a little like Versailles pour Homme by Jean Desprez and and I find it a more enjoyable leather fragrance than most of the big leathers. I have sold off my Knize Ten, Aoud Cuir Arabie, Versailles Pour Homme, and Lonestar Memories as well as Cuoio but I kept my bottle of Special Reserve along with a few other favorite leather scents. I think this fragrance works fine in the contemporary world. It is masculine, sure but it smells great. Its one big flaw is the longevity is only about three or four hours and it is so weak it must be splashed on with abandon to enjoy its scent. But the smell is great! Another honey leather like this that is cheap but smells wonderful is Elsha 1776 - nice bargain leather. Special Reserve is after all an after shave strength (I think?). A big bottle for under $10 that smells this good is hard to go wrong with in my opinion.

Strange stuff on this Pinaud, for sure.
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[The Nid Hog]

Special Reserve doesn't smell anything like Creed's REL. I think that REL is a beautiful fragrance, and I'd have more than the sample that I now own if I didn't have so many other leathers. If you feel like investing in it, you can't go wrong. Even if you don't like it, you can recover your investment on the BST in a heartbeat.

On the other hand, if I could pick a Creed leather to own, I would much rather have Cuir de Russie. Sadly, my wife appropriated the last of the decant I had been hoarding and that's probably the last I'll see of it in this life.

This is not to slight Special Reserve. I quite like it, particularly the most recent bottle I bought. And it is nothing like English Leather. At the risk of seeming like a jerk by citing myself, here's my review of it from an earlier post:


Clubman Special Reserve has been on my shelf for a while, but it wasn't my favorite Pinaud offering. I thought that it was almost great. I liked the leathery scent--not smoky, oily, soapy or sweet. Like military harness from another era, or a leather-bound volume. But it had something else going on in it too--like someone had put a shot from the Vegetal tank in there. In Lilac Vegetal--which I love--the sweetness of the lilac takes the edge off the dark organic scent (OK, OK--YMMV). But with Special Reserve, there was nothing to do that. After using it for a while, I began to think that the "pot liquor" undertone made the whole thing a little unpleasant. I got rid of what was left in the bottle.

Today, I was down at my friendly neighborhood Clubman store, picking up a bottle of Osage Rub and some Eau de Quinine. Something about the Clubman Special Reserve on the shelf looked different to me. I picked up the bottle and held it up to the light--the juice is a different color. My old Special Reserve was dark brown--like strong tea. Now its green. Not bright green like ocha, but a little muddled. I couldn't resist.

Gentlemen, the wizards at Pinaud have outdone themselves. This is an amazing fragrance. Everything that was good about the old Special Reserve remains--leather, a touch of vanilla, perhaps a hint of spice. The murky vegetal scent has been toned down to the point that it is almost--almost, but not quite--gone. It's strong, a fragrance to be used wisely. And it's very, very good.

Have you ever read Pérez-Reverte's Captain Alatriste? Imagine that it's an autumn day in 1635. You're a soldier, long in service, just returned to Madrid. You sit down at a small table in a familiar tavern. You brush off the dust of the road, toss your cloak across the chair next to you, your gloves and hat on top of them. You stretch your legs out in front of you, feel the warm afternoon sun on your face. The wine is strong and fragrant, your well cared-for sword is close at hand. You see an old friend approaching from across the square. It's good to be alive.

 

[Featherweight]

My old Special Reserve was dark brown--like strong tea. Now its green. Not bright green like ocha, but a little muddled. I couldn't resist.

SR is green(ish) in color now?

Hmm. Wonder which version of it I'll receive.

But Nid, interesting that you do consider it a leathery scent, albeit not something in the same league as Creed's leathers. And nothing like English Leather, either. I never understood EL . . . so much synthetic citrus and spice, and so little else. As I'm not really a huge fan of Pinaud Lilac Vegetal (although not a hater), I'm hoping that whatever my nose discerns from Special Reserve, boiled green broth is not part of the formula.



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[The Nid Hog]

I do think it's a leather. Just not the same kind as the others. Among those I've sampled, Creed's CdR has floral/citrusy notes to it. But not foul ones, like EL, which I have a real love/hate relationship (or like/hate) with. Mostly just hate, but not enough to make me throw away the bottle I have.

 

[Featherweight]

One day someone will appropriate the English Leather formula and actually make it smell like a competent leather. I keep telling myself that, anyway. I'm glad you're saying Special Reserve is a leather, though. That's what I was hoping to get.

 

[OldSchoolYoungin]

They're not comparable at all, IMO.

 

[daleroller]

I just got my bottle in the mail the other day, but haven't had a chance to try it yet.

 

[daleroller]

I got out of the shower, haven't shaved in two days, and splashed this on my face about 10 minutes ago. When I poured it on my hands it was this murky greenish-brown clolour. There is a scent of of leather here. I don't like English Leather, but this smells nice. There are also notes of spice, citrus, and medicine. After 10 minutes I smell an herbal scent, possibly marjoram or thyme. It is quite nice, very strong and am looking forward to getting the ladies opinion tomorrow.

 

[solar]

I just got my bottle in the mail the other day, but haven't had a chance to try it yet.

Same here. I plan to use this after my shave this morning. I am most curious to see how this one matures with my body chemistry.

Chris

 

[solar]

I should add, I used it this morning, and much, much better than I expected! I found it has moved from the initial leathery smell to a tobacco that is very redolent of the Caron Tabac Blonde. It has left me with a leather and tobacco scent that is very light on the skin now.

And yes, my bottle seemed to have that greenish hue as well that was alluded to above.

For $8.95 a bottle, this is a great bottle of AS/cologne, for a day of fishing, working around the yard, etc. Very nice.

Chris

 

[Featherweight]

this is a great bottle of AS/cologne, for a day of fishing, working around the yard, etc. Very nice.

I agree. Although I prefer more upscale fare during the week, I've found Pinaud to be a great weekend option. Vastly underrated across the board.




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[The Nid Hog]

Glad to hear you guys like it. While opinions might differ about LV, regular Clubman, Special Reserve and Vanilla are all excellent. In fact, I think that they are perfectly appropriate for everyday use. Whether you are flensing a walrus on a distant ice floe or dancing the tango at the Howell Cotillion, Pinaud is never out of place.

 

[Wingnut]

... Whether you are flensing a walrus on a distant ice floe or dancing the tango at the Howell Cotillion, Pinaud is never out of place.

Is this not one of the most classic sentences ever written?! Nid, you rock!

 

[Topgumby]

Damn, I was wearing Special Reserve while flensing a tango at the Howell ice floe. No wonder I got some raised eyebrows, I was just flat-out wrong.

Shoulda gone for Citrus Musk.

 

[Greglam]

...dancing the tango at the Howell Cotillion...

Talk about digging into the archives! Well played, Sir, well played!