Malt

I honestly don't understand why this gets such a low rating. In my opinion, Olivier Cresp has truly showcased his mastery with this scent. It holds a story within. The opening, with its salty wet yeast accord, might be challenging for some, but I personally love this part of the composition. It feels as if I am smelling freshly kneaded leavened dough in a wooden trough. As it starts to settle, the boozy vibe begins to reveal itself. It’s a combination of whiskey and rum scents resting on leather-upholstered chairs and polished wooden tables, accompanied by a sweet aroma that isn’t cloying. Interestingly, after the middle notes fade, a distinct smoky air emerges; I don't detect this smokiness in the opening at all, but it definitely makes its presence felt later on. And naturally, the setting is by the seaside. I can pick up that salty seaweed note, but it remains in the background. Everything feels true to life. The interior scents feel closer and more intimate, while the blend of sea and seaweed drifting in from the outside feels more distant... Even very amateur noses loved the base notes. Longevity is surprisingly good. As for projection (sillage), I would say it's at a mediocre level. I believe this fragrance is built on a very realistic composition and tells a genuine story. Everything is exactly where it needs to be. The sense of smell is tangible, but presenting this real-world tangibility inside a bottle requires true craftsmanship. It’s just like releasing a genie from a bottle... If that’s not magic, then what is?"

When I first tested this, I understood the negative comments. I do not get seaweed really at all, but it was heavy whiskey and yeasty - almost savory? - and there's a little funk. I didn't like it and was confused by the Olivier Cresp hype tbh (please forgive me). But I haven't worn it in a while, so I just tried again, on my skin this time, and WOW. It's dried down into this cozy, almost vanilla soap scent? If you've tried Aedes de Venustas Cierge de Lune, there is a similar coziness but no incense on this one. It definitely leans more masculine, but I don't mind that at all. It makes me want to smell my wrist over and over again. Not an enormous sillage, but up close it's so cozy. I will be wearing this all fall and I love that it's a light enough whisky for the daytime. It's hard to find a daytime boozy fragrance, and this one leans heavily into the whisky barrels rather than the alcohol itself.

The opening is a blast of roasted malt and caramelized sugar. It is a STRONG and realistic stout/porter beer. The accord is called whisky, it just lands more like a sweet stout to me. After the opening settles (30 minutes on skin), what remains is spiced carmelized sugar, an herbal rum. My nose is not good enough to pick those notes apart. I think the drydown shares DNA with Awake. Whatever pushes the coffee in Awake pushes the rum here. They layer together very nicely and smell like a proper hangover when combined. This is a full bottle for me, for use in cold weather chunky sweater hangouts. I wear this like someone else might wear By the Fireplace. Definitely sample first, this is for a particular taste and aesthetic and quite circumstantial in use cases for sure.

Damn, it really seems like everyone hates this one, but I can't relate. I love this fragrance. When it's first sprayed it can be a little intense, but after a fleeting moment, the scent settles and becomes downright intoxicating. Malt makes me smell like a sexy soft pretzel, which is not something I ever particularly aspired to smell like, but here we are. There is an easily detectable saltiness paired with something that I can only describe as yeast fermentation. A faint whisper of leather lies underneath. I know that description might sound unappealing, but for whatever reason, it works beautifully on my skin. Fuck the haters; two thumbs up. My partner says that Malt smells like non-flavored chapstick, so do with that what you will.

Guinness opening, maturing into a more balanced whiskey note. Kinda overwhelming at first in its acridity— photorealistic ‘five pints deep and some asshole spilled their entire drink on me’. Thankfully, Malt’s drydown is sweet and subtle, tempered by salty leather notes. Couldn’t pick up on the briney seaweed note I’ve seen detailed in other reviews, but here’s hoping it'll reveal itself to me over time! Malt is much too heady for daytime wear, but it’s a masculine, sultry, intoxicating nighttime pick.

I'm early thirties, bought a sample of this. First time I wear it, my wife says, "you smell like a sexy man!" What kind of sexy man? I asked her to elaborate . . . She said I smell like a green tweed, a Scottsman who just finished hunting deer or duck and is now enjoying time in his castle. This thing has incredible longevity. I put it on at noon, and I can still catch whiffs of it at 7 am the following day, post-shower! Very unique smell. I dig it.

خلاقانه و دوست داشتنی ترکیبی عجیب از روایح بوزی با پچولی و جلبک و چرم! در ابتدا طوفان تند و تیز مشروبی (که تا پایان هم هست) با حس خاکی و نمکی و دریایی عجین میشه و رایحه ی منحصر به فرد و خاصی رو ایجاد می کنه. تغییر نت خیلی زیادی نداره اما محصول نهایی قابل تحسینه. عالی *********************** scent:9/10 longevity:9/10 sillage:8/10 purchase value:4/10 *********** overall:7.5/10 * perfect *

I've been looking for boozy scents lately, and whisky is my #1 preference. This is, in my opinion, the most magnificent whisky scent I have ever smelled. It starts off with a salty, alcoholic atmosphere, followed by the smell of wet wood mixed with malty whisky. Everything in this bottle is enjoyable. I would quickly choose this if I had to pick my top 3 scents.

Scotch is my drink, and I can definitely say this is a scotch scent. I get weird looks when I order scotch in bars, like it’s supposed to be a drink for men, but I think this works well on me, with maybe that kind of surprise element. It reminds me of Kilian Angel’s Share quite a bit, but less sweet.

Watch out for the harsh ‘drunkard’ opening - but excellent boozy scent once it starts to settle, the rum (beer-ish) note stands out. Great masculine all year scent (trigger control 2/3 sprays during hotter months)

i love this fragrance and it's next on my to-buy list. it has everything i want in a fragrance and completely transports me. it reminds me of a shot of whiskey taken from a flask while walking along the coast.

It love from me - all my notes, and it smells exactly as I imagined from the notes. Maybe not for everyone but I grabbed a FB after wearing my sample once and after smelling it on my husband.

Intriguing boozy leather scent with excellent longevity and moderate projection. Sexy and alluring, a compliment getter and a day full of delectable whiffs for yourself. Love this.

this perfume should been rated very high ,its unique and nothing you can smell such his creativity , I loved it too much

Truly niche fragrance right here, beware. Not blind buy safe, but what a beautiful scent. Borderline unwearable. 9.2/10

Don’t know why this has such a low score on here.. people don’t know what they are talking about

Very unique, classy , def not for everyone but there is something special on it

My favorite from sampler set. Real man juice, brilliantly blended

It smells like ripe bananas. I really like it!

Malt really surprised me — and considering I’ve tried hundreds of perfumes by now, that’s quite something. Without resorting to improbable notes like anchovy sauce, rust from my garden gate, or pop-tarts, Akro manages to create a truly distinctive and probably unique fragrance. Right after spraying, a very clear image popped into my head — one of those vivid scenes that so many gesticulating Instagram “influencers” try to conjure with immense mental effort. I saw myself on the terrace of a seaside house at night, sipping whisky (or maybe rum — both notes are there, but whisky dominates for me), while cold gusts carried the salty scent of the sea. For a few moments, I actually saw and felt that scene. After the slightly disorienting opening, the perfume turns into something completely unexpected: discreet, delicate, polite, elegant — pleasant without being crowd-pleasing. I’m on my third wearing now, and I still can’t decide whether it’s a marine scent with faint boozy nuances or a boozy scent with faint marine ones. Every time I smell it, it leans a bit one way or the other. What’s certain is that it has a very smooth base with a gentle, refined sweetness — maybe from the patchouli. The only note from the pyramid that I can’t detect at all is leather. Unlike what a couple of reviewers before me said, it doesn’t remind me of beer in the slightest. Longevity is around 5 hours, with a soft personal bubble, minimal projection and sillage. I don’t know if I’ll buy a full bottle once my 5ml sample is gone, but Malt is definitely an extremely interesting fragrance — offbeat, refined, and far from the countless sugary messes that plague the so-called “niche” market nowadays. I can see how its uniqueness might put some people off, especially in the opening, but for me, it’s a near top mark fragrance.

Malt is my first test run with Olivier Cresp’s niche brand, Akro. He’s the blend master behind some of the biggest hits of our generation (Angel, Light Blue, Black Opium, Mon Paris, .... and the gazillion flankers they inspired), but I’ve always found many of his creations challenging for one reason or another. Usually he’s a pass. In my collection, I know of two Cresp scents: Noa and Valentina Assoluto —I like both and wear them from time to time. But in general when I see his signature, I tend to recoil because I know what he creates will likely not work on me. So what about today? I’m pleasantly surprised by Malt. It packs a nostalgic punch, taking me back to my early 20s and 30s when I used to see my friend’s bands play live in smoky, dim lit bars. This was Seattle in the 1980s and 90s. Lots of musicians and places to enjoy music for cheap. Many of those places are gone now, replaced by boutique condos and restaurants catering to the tech industry and the money that’s practically falling out of their pockets. But I digress... Malt lacks the smokey tobacco note (thank you!) but the rest is here: leather boots, whiskey, patchouli and some kind of spice. It’s not listed but I’m picking up clove and cardamom. I feel this is blended for a younger version of myself. It’s easy to wear too. And in typical Cresp fashion, performance is very good. All in all, a pleasant surprise. I’m looking forward to testing the rest from my discovery kit.

Akro Malt (from the original 2018 Akro collection, created by Olivier Cresp) is a boozy, spicy blend featuring the key accords of whiskey, rum, leather, seaweed, and patchouli, according to Luckyscent, Akro’s main retailer in the US. Certainly the boozy notes are front and center, so in that respect the name of the fragrance is appropriate, but there are definitely some green and herbal aspects, and even a twinge of an animalic side within the leather. So like Haze, there’s something very familiar and warm but also herbal and spicy. Still, the mix on the whole is very pleasant, and this strikes me as a nice bridge between sweeter boozy fragrances and spicy leather fragrances, somewhere in between, an itch that’s not quite been scratched by another fragrance in recent memory. In having the best of both worlds, it feels like a versatile option, particularly in cooler weather. As with most of the line, it performs well and has some density but is not overbearing, so some controlled sprays would make this a year-round fragrance, just perhaps not in the heat of a summer day. Like the rest of the line, Malt is priced at $160 for 100ml, very reasonable for niche pricing in today’s market, and is sold via the Luckyscent boutique in the US, as well as Akro’s US site. 7 out of 10

Jeez, Malt is a ride. I hate, absolutely despise, the opening. I don't know if it's the whiskey or the seaweed or what, but it's disgusting. But Malt gets better with every minute that passes, from gross to tolerable to pleasant to outright enjoyable. Whatever that gross note is, it's completely gone by the 1 hour mark. If it hadn't been added at all, I think Malt would have been bottle-worthy for me. Edit: 2 years later and this one has really grown on me. The opening is still weird but not as offensive to me now, and the dry down is somehow addicting. Whenever I sample it, I keep compulsively going back for more sniffs; kind of like how, growing up, I used to ask my dad if I could smell his beer when we were at restaurants because I thought it smelled strangely pleasing. I'm still not sure I want other people to smell this on me though - not because I'm worried they'll think I spilled beer on myself, but because I'm worried it's one that will smell bad to most people the same way it initially smelled bad to me.

So picture yourself at a beachfront dive bar. It's karaoke night and dude is singing his heart out whilst drinking a few too many stout microbrews. His throat gets sore from singing Sweet Caroline and happens to have some chloraseptic in his back pocket. After a few sprays, he heads down and falls into some shored up seaweed. Akro's Malt is what his breath and the surrounding air would smell like. Sounds delicious, right? This one is a polarizing journey, for sure. The opening here reminds me of a potent microbrew chocolate stout I remember drinking from Brooklyn Brewery in NYC. Soon after, this is where I start scratching my head with a (seaweedy?) marine/whiskey peaty vibe. Finally, to me, the most bizarre note of all in the dry-down: chloraseptic throat medicinal spray. Zingy and straaange. (eek) But man. I'm truly impressed. Cresp's concoction is a unique one, for sure. Not my bag, but a pretty wild aromatic ride regardless. I'd recommend a test drive.

Testing this blind from their discovery set, an interesting and intriguing scent I imagine is not for everyone. I got images of squid ink, and octopus in the initial opening, followed by a more complex blend of grape juice and incense? I don't know, but it has enough sweetness (not really that sweet) to keep my interest, and after a bit the musky weirdness and fruity element works (for me). Looking at the notes now, um... Ok! Whiskey? Sure - it's a little boozy, I get a little more rum, but it's more awkward dark liquor than either. What it isn't is classic men's whiskey or beachy rum. Its the seaweed that throws me off. I get it, it's floating in there but just like the two libations, you are not going to smell this and go, "seaweed"! The leather and pachouli is much the same, adding something, but it really isn't there. Overall it's interesting, and if in a BDSM dungeon wearing all latex, this so far would be my go-to. ;-)

This is such an evocative scent for me--I disagree with others that it's a beach club, when I smell it I think of a whiskey barrel on a pirate ship. In fact, on first sniff it called to mind the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney World! The top notes are all boozy, smoky whiskey that settles over time, with the leather and seaweed notes becoming more prominent as it wears. I got 4 hours of noticeable but not overwhelming sillage, and an overall 8 hour weartime on skin. It's a little more traditionally masculine than I'm comfortable wearing, but such a unique perfume that I wish I could pull off and I would appreciate it on others!

What the heck, this smells really interesting! I'm not sure I agree with the negative reviews. I’ve only tested this on skin and it's got an artsy, edgy vibe to it. It’s boozy and sweet with a hint of complexity. I don't really pick up on the seaweed or the bottom-of-the-trash bag notes. In the dry down, it takes on a pub-like quality, reminiscent of beers, non-descriptive boozy drink, worn leather and bar furniture. It's an interesting ride, maybe not a signature scent or one I’d wear too often but definitely worth exploring. Definitely not for everyone and that’s okay, but don’t let the bad reviews keep you from trying a sample :)

I have a sample of this and just happened to try it on again the other night. It never ceases to amaze me that my immediate first impression is always someone spilled whiskey on top of the lacquered wood bar top. After the sharp boozy notes fade, after that it oddly kind of reminds me of the Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker (from the late 80s/90s). I think it’s pleasant but also a little strange. The dry down is very patchouli for me, but it’s rounded out and slightly sweet. I do not detect the seaweed or leather, which is mainly why I wanted to try this one out.

funny that this is malt like whiskey, because it more reminds me of a malted milkshake! a little boozy but more sweet and sticky, definitely sharing a straw on a barely-cleaned diner tabletop. feeling the backs of your thighs stick to the vinyl seating. i don't know, this fragrance just feels bubbly and friendly and approachable, in colors of chestnut and cream. excited to wear this more as the weather crisps up, like an echo of summer late into the autumn. will pair with a slightly sweat-damp woolen scarf for the best effect.

I'm going to do something that was very trendy a few years back. Associate a fragrance with a character. That character would be Channing Tatum in the movie Blink Twice. Rich tech guy who owns his own island and pretty much does rich guy shit. Drink smoke chill and have sex all day pretty much. I won't spoil the movie but this is that in a very dirty way. Dirty tropical night type of vacation/beach scent. Nothing bright and shiny as it's sinister and naughty.

i’d been looking forward to this one! definitely whiskey but i get why people say it reminds them of beer — there is a lager-type bubbliness to it. i don’t necessarily feel seaweed at any moment while the fragrance is alive on my skin, but i wonder if that’s the secret to the fizzy accord. it grows sweeter in the drydown than i was expecting. not very loud, certainly not invisible. not tempted for a FB but i did have fun.

The opening hit me and I loved it. I agree with the person who said 90s nostalgia. In fact the entire flight of samples gave me flashbacks almost. It reminds me of a comforting aftershave I've smelled on others, but can't place. The seaweed hit heavily as it dried down and I liked it for the aggressive but good nostalgia, but if not for that, may have balked at that point. The first 30 minutes are the best part for sure.

This is so intriguing to me and I'll tell you why. I totally get a whisky/malt liquor vibes from this, but I also get something steeped in nostalgia. If you were a child of the 90s, perhaps you remember the smell of glitter slime. It's a very specific smell and I realize now it's like slightly sweetened seaweed (it's like marine dollhead). This smells like that x whisky and it intrigues me and makes me happy.

The seaweed top note smells strangely like eucalyptus to my nose. After it dissipates, I find this to be a really offbeat, unique everyday fragrance. To me, this doesn’t literally smell like a bar, beer, or any other kind of booze. (I’ve spilled hundreds of drinks so I consider myself an expert.) This is more abstract—it evokes a feeling rather than conjuring a photorealistic night out.

The first 15 minutes it is terrible- it opens like a sour dough, extremely dense and smells like a homeless person. After the first disgusting blast it actually starts smelling like refined whisky bar - much much better, much more expensive and elegant. It is not suitable for a blind buy and you need to give it time. I promise it gets better.

Given that the smell of whiskey/whisky can make me feel sick I’m glad I didn’t read the notes before trying. Loved this. Comforting and cozy, to me. Not that easy for me to define but I would happily wear it. Well made, a little over priced but not everyone will be wearing it. Pleasantly surprised how I liked it.

First 10min - straight up from a dark beer opened bottle. After half an hour you get the real thing - leather and sea weed, draft tree and maybe rain but not in a fresh way. Definitely try before buy. Overall I like the nostalgic note, reminds me of old beer pub with wooden bar.

Something for the whisky fans. Smoked malt and salty seaweed, I imagine some close to the shore distillery that makes prayer whisky, that’s what you get. Pleated medicinal phenolic whisky with salty seaweed tones.

Realistic alcohol scent. If you’re looking for something that smells like a fragrance, this is not for you. The dry down is too sickly sweet for me, it reminds me of Jazz Club without the balancing smokiness.

it's.....creative. got a lot of alcohol. i was expecting a sweet maltol/malt milkshake frag (which in hindsight was stupid considering the brand) but this was the opposite. also very chemical-y

It is cool and bord. But smells like San Fermín in a bad way. Won't wear it. It reminds me a little bit of Harvest mouse but much better, pleasant and wearable is the harvest mouse.

Purchased from the Akro discovery set. This is one of the perfumes that I actually somewhat like from the discovery set, if not the only one. The opening is straight up rubbing alcohol to me, and it is LOUD. People are going to notice you smell like alcohol, but this dissipates in 30 minutes, so there's that. Like what another reviewer said, I too hated the opening, but this is definitely a perfume that gets better over time, and then settles into a generic, boring men's perfume on the dry down. So, yes, to my nose, this is a very masculine scent. It goes from rubbing alcohol, to rum at a speakeasy, to beers with the guys after a long day of work at a hole in the wall. The seaweed note is unnoticeable to me, and I eat quite a lot of seaweed, so I was expecting something briny. An uncomplicated perfume (in a sense that it's just alcohol and leather to me), and I would imagine this would work better in cooler, non-humid climates. Definitely a nighttime, "heading-out-with-the-guys-for-drinks-at-the-bar" type of scent.

Nose Note #802 Calling this an acquired taste is an understatement. So far I've only tried Ink and Malt, and both are damn challenging. Don't be mislead by the whiskey note. This smells nothing like whiskey. Maybe boozy. It's hard to describe, but you can just call it medicinal. It has been a while, but for some reason I'm thinking of povidone iodine - something brown. Or perhaps if you mix whiskey and seaweed and make it very sweet then you get Malt. The more I smell it honestly the more I like it. It's precisely the weird and unique nature of it that makes me want to smell it again, but being realistic - 95% of people would not even agree to skin test it. It's not pleasant for the average wearer and for the people around. But it's an interesting fragrance to sample! Nicely strong, wonderful performance. And an OK price too! Super niche stuff for an acceptable price. If you want to smell unique and slightly offputting - that's a great choice. My wife was disgusted by it. 7.2/10, - personally but 6/10 is more true

Reviewing a sample from 2024. Malt was launched in 2018. Single malt Islay scotch anyone? This opens with ?burnt rubber then an immediate blast of oaked whisky and seaweed which does not seem to belong here. This is followed by spiced leather and patchouli. Sweet with a hint of smoke, a bit medicinal/camphorous from the patchouli . Although the opening is challenging, the dry down is nice and earthy. I am guessing that the idea was to create a single malt whisky scent from the Scottish Isles where the distilleries expound on the influence of the salt from the sea on their final aroma profile hence the iodine/seaweed accord. Quality- good 3.5/5 Leans Masculine Performance- very good 4.5/5 This fragrance is as rugged as the outer Hebrides. Wear it sailing to the island pub for a scotch... and a brawl. 7/10

This smells nothing like the notes to me. I guess if I squint I can get a sweet flat stale beer, but really this smells overwhelmingly inky to me, like a ballpoint pen exploded on a leather couch. I get the same inkiness from Commodity Velvet, which I don't think is a common opinion, so this may just be a curiosity of my skin chemistry. A bit of circumstantial leather and a hint of something green and aromatic. To be clear, I kind of like this smokey inky vibe, I think it's unusual and somehow very alluring. It just always puzzles me when my skin presents something so very different from the notes. It makes me want to layer this with something indisputably marine, maybe Every Storm a Serenade by Imaginary Authors.

Did not expect the reviews below after trying this out - I thought this was supposed to be realistic whiskey, and that's what it smells like to me. It's pretty linear and extremely boozy - not like alcohol-heavy fragrances that smell like a hospital, it's precisely expensive booze with a very distinct fermented, malty profile. Warm and comforting in a weird way. However, I'd say it's also very occasion-specific, definitely not a people pleaser, and I can see it leaning significantly more masculine as far as gender perception in fragrances goes. I didn't expect to like it, and I kinda don't, but it's definitely interesting.

First impressions based on the sample in the Akro Discovery Kit: A refreshing take on an otherwise generic section of fragrances - masculine/masculine-leaning woody aquatic. Opening was extremely salty, like medicinal seaweed. The dry down gets sweet(er) and the woods become more prominent. Sillage/longevity is powerful - 1-2 sprays. I went from disliking it to thinking it is ok on me. Not for my personal taste, but on the right person I could see this being super sexy and alluring. I might try it again in the colder months though. If you’re bored by most woody aquatics, this could be worth a try.

this scent is pure booze. like a straight whiff of brandy old fashioned- definitely strong on the bitters! like others have pointed out, the opening is super intense and almost sickening- an acrid, overly-aromatic takeover, but that tones down after an hour or two. it's definitely a nighttime type of scent and i wouldn't advise wearing it to work unless you want people to think you spilled malt liquor on your clothes haha, but a very unique scent nonetheless! NOTE- the longevity is insaaane on this one!

How can you screw a boozy themed scent Usually it’s associated with vanilla or amber But this one took a dry approach It’s damp stinky and a little salty I can’t believe I’m saying this but it’s really weak and I found it a good thing that it doesn’t perform I can’t see myself wearing it any time soon But I really appreciate the perfumers artistic work even if it wasn’t to my liking

Yeah, this is weird. On one hand, there’s actually a lot to like about it: the booze and leather compliment each other beautifully to create a rich, dark, slightly smoky masculine scent. But then it’s ruined by the seaweed! I actually really like salt in fragrances so if it was a bit softer, I could see it working, but the seaweed is just too powerful. One for the adventurous.