The legendary Hammam Boquet

[philgrace]

I absolutely love the old school British fragrances, or really about anything British for that matter. Some of my favorites are Eucris by Geo F Trumper, and Clubman by Truefitt and Hill is exquisite IMO. However, I have a particular fondness of the Penhaligons brand. I love Blenheim, Opus, Endymion, Halfeti. But I recently acquired the one that started it all, Hammam Boquet. Before I purchased a full bottle I ordered a decant and at first I didn't care for the scent. It reminded me of a childhood smell I came across at some point at my grandmother's house. But after a couple tries, I really started to love Hammam. Opening seemed to be somewhat of a sour smell with rose but after some dry time the rose came thru in a pleasant sweet yet masculine way. After a number of hours it becomes a powdery scent. I decided I enjoyed it enough to purchase a full bottle and I ended up getting two bottles! My full bottle however seems to be different than the decant I received. The fresh bottle has a much stronger smell of a woody alcohol on opening, similar to glass of scotch to my nose. After some drying, that lovely rose shines through, but it seems short lived until it becomes a very strong powder. Maybe the rose is short lived as my nose becomes blind to it. I'm not sure if the difference from the decant is a different batch or simply because I have a fresh bottle that hasn't been exposed to air. I still love the fragrance, but I wish the powder was a little weaker to let that rose bloom. My wife isn't too crazy about it as all she smells is the powder, but in her words "at least you smell clean" In all fairness she has mostly only smelled Hammam after it's been on my skin for a while. I have yet to receive any compliments on Hammam, but I still enjoy it. Does anyone have similar experiences with Hammam? I really wish Penhaligons had other items in the Hammam range such as shaving cream.

 

[EL Alamein]

This is an old scent and it's got a history to it. To sum up it's supposed to smell like a Turkish bath house from the Victorian era. Something men from that era smelled like rather routinely as they supposedly didn't wear scent but often patronized such places.

It's had it's reformulations over the years and when it was resurrected a few decades ago it was supposedly true to the original formula. Now it's not so much. Like most scents it's been cheapened a bit though supposedly still very high quality.

The cheapening may be due to the availability of the original Otto Rose oil being too expensive to keep the price of the juice profitable.

FWIW it has been stated by some rather reliable sources that Hammam was worn by every male heir to the English throne during the 20th century for their coronation. Can't speak to the utter truth of this but the sources I've heard it from are usually rather reliable.

In the end you have to like it for it for itself. It is a rather odd scent in today's world, not something most today would expect a man to wear.

It's still very good though.

Chris

 

[philgrace]

Thanks for this info Chris. The history of the scent is one of the reasons I like it.

After reading other posts I'm trying to put my finger on the difference between my decant and the full bottle I have, its driving me a bit mad. The decant I received was about 2yrs ago, and still has a lovely rose scent. The full bottles I received recently have a very strong alcohol scent with almost no rose, almost off putting until it dries down.

I've read that the newest batches are severely lacking in rose scent compared to the original formulation, but I've also read that if a fragrance goes bad it gets a strong alcohol smell.

So this is my debate. I believe I could settle it by simply going to a shop and smelling what they have for a tester, but that's not possible for a while as I'd have to drive hours and possibly fly to another state just to find a shop that sells their products.

I already tried Penhaligons support and they wouldn't give me any direction as to my questions since I didn't purchase straight from them or one of their official retailers, even though I did purchase their product.

Honestly I'm hoping that the bottles I received have just gone bad, because that means there's hope to get a fresh bottle that smells like the decant I have. Otherwise if it is a difference between a previous and the current formulation, chances are I won't be able to obtain a full bottle of the same scent in the decant that only has a couple drops left.

Phillip

 

[EL Alamein]

Phillip, I hope you find what you're looking for. I think the best of it is gone though.

I have a very old bottle of it, supposedly one of the original formulation and it still smells incredible - no alcohol or acetone smell (typical of turned fragrances when they get old). I got it about seventeen years ago and who knows how old it was at that point.

About five or so years ago I bought a backup directly from Penhaligon's. It's not the same though still very good.

What they sell now I can't vouch for but have read it's still reminiscent of the original.

Best of luck.

Chris

 

[cmh737]

Count me as a fan of The Hammam Bouquet! The bottle that I currently have is one that I bought about 3 years ago; I don't have any negative issues with it. The rose is most definitely there, and it has great longevity. This is probably one of only two rose dominate fragrances that I can pull off (the other being Cartier Declaration d'un Soir). Every other rose dominate fragrance I've tried has been too feminine for me.

 

[emwolf]

I had to break down and buy a sample, just to see if I like it. Who wouldn't want to smell like a Victorian gentleman?

 

[philgrace]

I just sprayed on some of the last of the decant I have. I think I have pinpointed the difference -strength. The opening of the decant is softer and has strong rose on opening. The fresh bottle is stronger and has the smell of scotch on opening. Both dry down to about the same scent. So chances are the decant has just lost some of its strength and it goes straight to the rose. To be safe and know for sure I've ordered another decant from a reputable place. But if I am correct, my fresh bottle might very well age to smell exactly like the decant.

 

[sarimento1]

I absolutely love the old school British fragrances, or really about anything British for that matter. Some of my favorites are Eucris by Geo F Trumper, and Clubman by Truefitt and Hill is exquisite IMO. However, I have a particular fondness of the Penhaligons brand. I love Blenheim, Opus, Endymion, Halfeti. But I recently acquired the one that started it all, Hammam Boquet. Before I purchased a full bottle I ordered a decant and at first I didn't care for the scent. It reminded me of a childhood smell I came across at some point at my grandmother's house. But after a couple tries, I really started to love Hammam. Opening seemed to be somewhat of a sour smell with rose but after some dry time the rose came thru in a pleasant sweet yet masculine way. After a number of hours it becomes a powdery scent. I decided I enjoyed it enough to purchase a full bottle and I ended up getting two bottles! My full bottle however seems to be different than the decant I received. The fresh bottle has a much stronger smell of a woody alcohol on opening, similar to glass of scotch to my nose. After some drying, that lovely rose shines through, but it seems short lived until it becomes a very strong powder. Maybe the rose is short lived as my nose becomes blind to it. I'm not sure if the difference from the decant is a different batch or simply because I have a fresh bottle that hasn't been exposed to air. I still love the fragrance, but I wish the powder was a little weaker to let that rose bloom. My wife isn't too crazy about it as all she smells is the powder, but in her words "at least you smell clean" In all fairness she has mostly only smelled Hammam after it's been on my skin for a while. I have yet to receive any compliments on Hammam, but I still enjoy it. Does anyone have similar experiences with Hammam? I really wish Penhaligons had other items in the Hammam range such as shaving cream.

my SWMBO also has no fondness for most of my elegant juices!
says they all smell like Pine Sol!!
But I like them!

 

[philgrace]

my SWMBO also has no fondness for most of my elegant juices!
says they all smell like Pine Sol!!
But I like them!


View attachment 1057306

Nice setup

Phillip

 

[emwolf]

my SWMBO also has no fondness for most of my elegant juices!
says they all smell like Pine Sol!!
But I like them!

A lot of high quality fragrances my wife likens to petroleum. Hmmmmm.

 

[FarmerTan]

A lot of high quality fragrances my wife likens to petroleum. Hmmmmm.

Same here...

 

[philgrace]

Yeah, funny thing. My wife's favorite cologne that I wear is cheap stuff, bath and body works Freshwater. It does smell good, but it has a very synthetic smell. Certainly not high quality ingredients, but I do wear it on occasion.

 

[EL Alamein]

I just sprayed on some of the last of the decant I have. I think I have pinpointed the difference -strength. The opening of the decant is softer and has strong rose on opening. The fresh bottle is stronger and has the smell of scotch on opening. Both dry down to about the same scent. So chances are the decant has just lost some of its strength and it goes straight to the rose. To be safe and know for sure I've ordered another decant from a reputable place. But if I am correct, my fresh bottle might very well age to smell exactly like the decant.

I'll be interested to see how this turns out.

Chris

 

[FarmerTan]

Yeah, funny thing. My wife's favorite cologne that I wear is cheap stuff, bath and body works Freshwater. It does smell good, but it has a very synthetic smell. Certainly not high quality ingredients, but I do wear it on occasion.

Don't ya just hate that? My lovely War Department and I like ENTIRELY different scents on me, lol!

 

[The Knize]

Interesting. As I recall, I own a bottle of Pen's HB, I have no idea from what vintage, but it is not one of my favorite scents. I do remember standing outside the doors of some supposedly authentic Turkish baths, I think it was in Dubrovnik or Split, Croatia, and the air wafting from inside smelled just like HB. I suppose that is exactly what it is supposed to smell like according to Penhaligons. So props for authenticity!

 

[philgrace]

I'll be interested to see how this turns out.

Chris

I received the 2nd decant today and it does indeed smell just like the fresh bottle I recently opened. It has a glass of scotch opening to my nose. The older decant with a strong rose opening I'm thinking is just weaker as its older so it moves straight to the rose.

At least I now know that my new fresh bottle hasn't gone bad, actually it's somewhat the opposite.

I'm really starting to love Hammam Bouquet. Opening is perhaps strong, but once the rose starts to bloom its wonderful.

Phillip

 

[cmh737]

I received the 2nd decant today....I'm really starting to love Hammam Bouquet....once the rose starts to bloom its wonderful.

Phillip

Excellent!

 

[EL Alamein]

Well at least now you know. As long as you like it that's all that matters.

I am intrigued by the scotch opening as the old stuff gave the balsam smell right off the bat. I wonder what they substituted for it.

Sounds nice though and I'm happy this old classic is still around. For me it's a very noble clean smell and very civilized.

Chris

 

[blantyre]

I haven’t tried the current version of HB. I like the older one for sure. Known for its animalic opening with a nice rose dry down. Quite a distinctive scent.

 

[emwolf]

I got my sample yesterday and did a small sample on the wrist. My first reaction was "this is related to Lilac Vegetal." Don't get me wrong, I love the Veg and am a regular user. This has the same earthy vegetation smell that I get from the Veg, without the lilac blast. I really like it and can see why it was a popular scent.