Smoky Tonka

I've been wearing this for a week or so and like it very much. There are only so many olfactory profiles, so over-comparison to other fragrances has been and continues to be problematic across the genre. This new line from 4711 is excellent. I found an online retailer that sells full bottles from this line for under $60 - a bargain!!

This is amazing! It’s the smell of Christmas markets ❤️

10 minutes into testing Smoky Tonka, I was reminded of Angel's Share. Then I looked up the notes and, yep, no one is surprised, they're essentially identical. So this was a bit of a letdown right from the get-go. If I want to wear Angel's Share, I might as well buy Angel's Share, right? But first things first. Smoky Tonka opens with a blast of smokey, boozy sweetness. If there is something citrussy in it, I don't get it myself. What I do get however is a slightly benzoinic cloud of barrel-aged alcohol that gets smoothed down by some smooth, vanilla-y sweetness. Imagine crossing a very sweet rum with a very smokey whiskey - that's roughly what you can smell in the first minutes of the fragrance. As it dries down a little, the smoke is the first thing to fade. It only remains for like 30ish minutes on my skin and it is never harsh in that time, but still, it fades a little too early for my taste, for it gives the perfume character while it is there. Afterward, there is surprisingly little development in Smoky Tonka. There's booziness, but that, too, isn't very harsh. Less of a hard spirit, more of a smooth blend of liqueurs. The note is described as Cognac in both Angel's Share and Smoky Tonka and I can see why it's not Whiskey. It's further smoothed down by a vanilla-like sweetness that is creamy, but never powdery on my skin. One thing I criticized in many other entries in the 4711 Collection Absolue was the lipsticky sweetness that many of them dried down to that was uninspired and repetitive. This didn't happen to me in Smoky Tonka. Instead, the sweetness stays pleasant throughout. It's clearly vanilla, but in a very smooth and soft execution that is neither overbearing, nor syrupy, but - to my nose - just the right amount. It's somewhat warm and comfortable and interplays nicely with the boozy, alcoholic notes to create something that I actually would like to taste as much as I like to smell it. In direct comparison to Angel's Share (at least in my memory), I find Smoky Tonka to be a little more toned down - less opulent (while still not being particularly subtle), less fruity, a little less 'much', if you will. Personally, I actually might like Smoky Tonka more due to that, but for others, this might take away from what they love in Angel's Share. What stood out to me in comparison to other 4711 fragrances, even in the Collection Absolue, was its longevity. 8 hours in, I still have significant leftover smell on my wrist, even if I sprayed conservatively. Which surprised me - most of the samples I tested faded far quicker. Overall though this really is 4711 doing Angel's Share, there's no way around it. I believe if you want Angel's Share, you might just get Angel's Share. However, if that is a little much for you, but you still like the baseline idea, you might want to give this a try, maybe it's the exact sweet spot for you. Personally, I did enjoy my time with it and I might resample it in the future. Still, I have to be clear here: This is not just "inspired by" Angel's Share. It's very much a clone.

This is cheap copy of Angel's Share - which is very dissaponting. I expected more from 4711. For more details, read the previous review.