Café Tabac

I recently bought a sample of this while on the hunt for a tobacco fragrance after I first experienced Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille. That was a pretty good and interesting fragrance though I was a bit put off by the price and at the time, though I believe it is a bit cheaper right now. It's also a bit of a tougher wear due to it's projection, but I liked the scent and thought to scour around for the best one. And what do you know, Bertrand Duchafour had a recently release offering available to try so I decided to pick one up On to my sample; when I got Cafe Tabac, I expected it to be too sweet and too quirky for my liking. I also expected a coffee note considering the name "Cafe Tabac" as smoking at a cafe was considered more common in the US and even around the world a while back, but there is none to be found. I'm aware that in other languages/cultures, a "cafe" can actually refer to a drinking bar. So I'll assume that that's the origin of the name. As for the scent and sweetness, there are a LOT of fruits in here along with the standard cacao and vanilla notes you see in these types of tobacco fragrances. Luckily for my liking, it's not actually too sweet. The scent opens with slight wafts of unlit tobacco before being superseded by cacao and fruits. For the first 1-1.5hrs the fruits hold the most prominence in the scent profile. You can clearly pick out the fig, apple, and mango in right around that order of strength. The dates last the longest through this period, but are also the most subtle. I'll admit that the tamarind was hardest for me to pick out. Again you'd think the fruits would go a ways toward making this smell gourmand-y, but along with the bergamot they keep the scent fresh and interesting during this initial period. It's definitely not the sweetest scent I've ever tried. After the first 1.5hrs the fruits recede and become a background note, while the honey, sugars, and vanilla pull forward. They're present without being overly strong and they provide the majority of the sweetness for the remainder of the life of the fragrance. The most interesting aspect of this fragrance is it's evolution. From here the harsher notes of the tobacco, birch tar, peru balsam come forth. And as if crossing in different directions, these darker notes grow stronger and the previously mentioned sweet notes inversely die down. From about hour 3 onwards, this fragrance has just about completed it's evolution. You're left with surprisingly dense and dark tobacco as if you're now holding lightly smoldering cigar. This tobacco is not harsh, acrid, or smoky, and the cacao, vanilla, and honey now serve as the background with the fruit notes gone completely. Project and sillage are strong, but not massive like Tobacco Vanille. This fragrance lasts around 10hrs, longer on clothes as tobacco fragrances typically do. Cafe Tabac is the most realistic smelling tobacco without being harsh and astringent. And though it initially takes a back seat for about 2-3hrs, the tobacco is still the star of this fragrance showing that Cafe Tabac balanced with an incredible level of care. I haven't tried every tobacco fragrance, and I may yet try a few more, but it looks very likely that I will own a bottle of this Cafe Tabac come winter. To me, it's the best tobacco fragrance of what I've tried so far. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Slight aside as this is just me venting. Stop wasting your time commenting how some "x fragrance is just the same as y" It's totally useless information that helps no one. They clearly do not smell the same. Comment what you think of the fragrance, whether you think one is better or worse, or whatever. But saying one is the same just makes you look dumb.

The description of the fragrance written by Aedes de Venustas is worth reading as it provides historical background on the name, the spirit and various locations and notes that went into its creation. Although the description is poetically nostalgic and a bit "see how cool we are" it still provides useful information. The scent itself is quite good, one of the better of the tobacco fragrances I own or have tried. There is a bit of resemblance to Opus XIV – Royal Tobacco by Amouage, but disagree with those who think it is similar to Dior’s Tobacolor. The latter is much lighter. Café Tabac, as almost everything says, starts out as a beast. Strong from the first spray. This dissipates pretty quickly but it is worth knowing. In any case, the fragrance contains quite a few notes that begin to blend in after the strong blast of tobacco. I would say that those who are looking for a strong coffee note will be disappointed. The name of the perfume is a bit misleading since it is named after a NYC bar. There is a slight hint of coffee, but it is the burnt sugar, tonka bean, birch tar and dates that add to its early oomph. The fruit notes are a subtle touch and add some lightness that make it less of a masculine fragrance tha some might expect. It has moderate silage strong longevity and develops over time. It’s more suited to evenings. It can be worn throughout the year, but I see it more as a cool weather scent despite it tropical inspiration. I encourage anyone who loves tobacco scents to at least sample this one.

Café Tabac is another triumph from Aedes de Venustas, following Iris Nazarena and Copal Azur. At its heart, it is a tobacco fragrance, pipe tobacco to be precise, rendered with striking realism and balance. The tobacco feels rich and textured. Its sweetness is beautifully rounded and never overwhelming, and both longevity and sillage are excellent, perfectly matching the scent’s depth and confidence. It’s a bold and multi-layered fragrance that tells a story of its own. Maybe I’m a little biased by the brand’s narrative, but I can easily picture the warm, amber-lit atmosphere of a New York bar as the night winds down, smoke in the air, laughter fading, and a soft sweetness lingering. Aedes de Venustas may not be known for narrative scents, yet Café Tabac paints that scene with impressive clarity. Now to the inevitable question: does it smell like Tobacco Vanille? In the same way that every pineapple fragrance gets called an Aventus clone, sure, someone might say that. But that kind of shortcut misses everything that makes Café Tabac special. It shares a general theme of tobacco and sweetness, but the execution is worlds apart: it is drier, more nuanced, bolder, deeper and more elegant. And that’s without even mentioning the presentation. Aedes bottles feel luxurious in the hand, the sprayer delivers a beautiful mist, and the magnetic cap adds a satisfying finishing touch. Don’t take anyone’s word for it, not even mine. Try it for yourself. I did, and I don’t regret it for a second.

☕ Coffee, Dark Wood and Sticky Tobacco 🍂 You step into a study hidden from the world, tightly paneled in dark, aged wood. The walls are filled from floor to ceiling with a massive library of old, leather-bound volumes, and the space vibrates with a dignified, hollow silence. A cup of thick, pitch-black coffee steams on a heavy oak desk, its noble bitterness perfectly grounding the senses. Instead of mundane snacks, a crystal bowl full of sweet, dried fruits rests nearby. Their fleshy, sticky juice from dates and figs gleams in the focused, warm light of a brass lamp. Someone unhurriedly opens an artisanal pouch, releasing the intoxicating aroma of tobacco. This is no dry, scratchy smoke. It is an incredibly moist, sweet leaf, completely steeped in the scent of burnt sugar and fruit nectar. Cafe Tabac is an overpoweringly rich composition, where luxurious sweetness and caffeinated darkness create an absolutely sensual, elite sanctuary. TikTok: @the.scent.files

I liked it but I've been told its more for an older man. Its a very Hispanic tobacco though. The main thing most people don't understand is that its a tobacco + fruit scent, more specifically Tamarind which i find is a thing people either love or hate and unless you know what a bodega is or have ever had a tamarind jarritos before, you wont know what it is. For those that do, its instantly recognizable. The result is something dark, sticky, tangy and definitely tobacco flavored so its name hits the mark in that regard. Silage is pretty good but your skin chemistry is gonna determine how far out it radiates. For me I'd say its moderate, but it lasted a long time. Hard part is nailing down the age bracket. I could see a guy over 40 wearing it easily but the fruit keeps it vibrant enough its not an old-old man scent.