Single Malt

Kilian Single Malt opens with a very moderate projection of plum and some woods. The plum note is very sweet, slightly boozy although the fragrance contains no boozy notes, very aromatic and evocative of the actual fruit. The wheat creates an aromatic and support note, slightly nutty, dry, and fresh. As the fragrance dries down, the cedar tone is more prominent, clean, and fresh wood; The vanilla and tolu balsam create an aromatic gourmand and ambery note respectively which enhances the plum note making it feel gourmand. Once Kilian Single Malt has reached its full dry-down, it can be summarized as a moderate projection, sweet gourmand, plum fragrance with vanilla, tolu balsam, and wheat accords. The fragrance feels comforting, delectable, fruity, inviting, mature, mild, resinous, rich, syrupy, unisex, warm, woody, and very pleasant. BATCH REVIEWED: 2020 WOW RATING: 9/10. Kilian Single Malt is a delicious fragrance. DISLIKE RATING: 1/10. The notes are well blended, inoffensive. Someone could find the sweet somehow offensive but it is unlikely. UNIQUENESS: 7/10. The market has produced many gourmand fragrances. This is one of them. MASS APPEAL: 9/10. Most people will find this fragrance very appealing. PROJECTION: 4/10. Moderate, about 4 feet around the wearer. SILLAGE: 5/10. Moderate, about 5 feet behind the wearer. APPLICATION: 3 atomizations will suffice. LONGEVITY: 5/10. About 5 hours with 2 of good projection. SEASONS: Winter, fall, colder nights, or climate-controlled environments. OCCASIONS: Formal events, outdoor gatherings, office, casual, holidays, romantic, dating, clubbing. In moderation, this is an office-friendly fragrance. VERSATILITY: 6/10. Not the most versatile fragrance because of its gourmand nature, but highly versatile to be a gourmand fragrance. GENDER: Unisex. AGES: Any. RECOMMENDATION: Kilian Single Malt can be found for over $300. The market provides similar and ever better alternatives for a lower cost. Not recommended. BLIND-BUY: No, sample it first. SIMILAR: These are examples of gourmand fragrances, some combine tobacco or boozy notes. Dior Feve Delicieuse by Christian Dior – La Collection Privé is one of the best gourmands/boozy fragrances in the market, pricy but good; Dua Fragrances Beauteous Delight is the clone of Feve Deliciouse, very similar but with stronger citrus notes and great longevity; Feve Delicieuse is a fantastic gourmand fragrance featuring cacao, milk, and other notes; Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille is a great boozy, and vanilla fragrance; Kilian Black Phantom EDP features delicious coffee, rum, caramel, and dark chocolate; Montale Chocolate Greedy bring cacao, vanilla, and tonka, but lacks performance; Nishane Fan Your Flames features woody, sweet, coconut, and rum notes, and it is very good; Paco Rabanne Black XS By Paco Rabanne is a gourmand fragrance that features praline and it feels chocolaty; Parfums De Marly Oajan EDP is slightly boozy, sweet and spicy; Thierry Mugler - A*Men Angel Men Pure Tonka is another great gourmand fragrance featuring coffee, cacao, and other delectable notes; Tiziana Terenzi Al Contrario is an exquisite malt, woods, cacao, and sugar cane gourmand fragrance; Tom Ford Noir De Noir is more floral and more chocolaty; Tom Ford Noir Extreme EDP is a sweet, dessert-like, floral fragrance but slightly tilted to the feminine side. SUMMARY: A moderate projection, sweet gourmand, plum fragrance with vanilla, tolu balsam, and wheat accords. The fragrance feels comforting, delectable, fruity, inviting, mature, mild, resinous, rich, syrupy, unisex, warm, woody, and very pleasant.

The opening here is interesting and tricky. I'd swear it has citrus in it, but if not, it's the way the plum plays with the wheat 🌾. The plum here is unique and special. Most other plums I've smelled in perfumery are ripe or overripe. But this plum here is just barely ripe, perhaps even slightly under ripe, and sprinkled delicately with sugar. The perfume is subtle, especially compared to modern Kilian boozy fragrances like apple brandy or angels share. Those perfumes show you all their cards right away, bludgeoning you with booze and everything they've got immediately. Single Malt takes it's time and transitions slowly and deliberately. It's very clever perfumery. The booze and other notes are never heavy or cloying. This is one of the most chill and subtle boozy fragrances I've ever encountered. It's got backbone, but is light enough to be worn in moderate temperatures. Performance is not "beast mode", this is more elegant, and is about elegance over raw horsepower. Longevity is good, sillage is good, projection is moderate. Very classy perfumery and could be worn by those that are leery about boozy fragrances, but are looking for something in this genre or or are looking to get into this category. This is not a monster like Angel Share, and I don't think it was meant to be. This is class and elegance over brut force. Scent 8/10 Performance 5.5/10

By Kilian’s Single Malt is a fragrance that truly lives up to its name—rich, warm, and intoxicating in the best way. It opens with a smooth, boozy malt whiskey note that immediately sets a luxurious tone, evoking the image of aged spirits resting in oak barrels. That wooden, slightly smoky undertone gives it depth and character, making it feel like a scent with a story. The plum note adds a subtle sweetness, never overpowering, just enough to round out the edges and keep it from becoming too dry or austere. It’s this balance that makes Single Malt so wearable and inviting. The projection is confident without being aggressive, and the longevity is impressive—lingering for hours without fading into something generic. What makes this fragrance stand out is its versatility. It’s refined enough for formal occasions, yet comforting enough for everyday wear. It doesn’t scream for attention, but it definitely leaves an impression. It’s the kind of scent that makes you feel like you’ve got your life together—polished, composed, and quietly powerful. It’s a shame it’s been discontinued, as it’s become a rare gem on the aftermarket. But for those lucky enough to own a bottle, it’s a signature scent that whispers sophistication and indulgence. A true 10 out of 10.

Single Malt by By Kilian accomplishes excellently the balance between sweet and boozy, evoking just enough syrupy, honeyish sweetness simultaneously with aspects of whiskey and scotch. I'm not even an aficionado of scotch or whiskey, but much like coffee before I drank it, I enjoy their aromas and notes, and they come through in Single Malt. Projection is certainly strong for several hours in but beyond that it's not a beast all day / all night. It reminds me of Herod by Parfums de Marly in its pure sweetness most of all, actually, despite the notion that Herod is linked to tobacco and Single Malt is linked to booze; the type of sweetness strikes me as similar. Single Malt is the only By Kilian I've given much consideration to buying, as I've usually found that their fragrances are more comparably done elsewhere (Intoxicated is replicated in the A*Men line, Back to Black is not quite as good as other sweet tobaccos like Herod or TV) but in this case, I find Single Malt unique enough to merit real consideration at its considerable ($295 for 50ml) price point. Peculiarly, it's an exclusive to the London boutique but seems available online all the same (unlike the Le Labo, Tom Ford exclusives). 9 out of 10

Wow! Just WOW!! And did I mention.... WOW!!! I will start by admitting that I am typically drawn to whiskey / woody / tobacco type scents. So this one is right up my alley. It has been awhile since I looked at this house and it was time to explore and rediscover some of their scents. Last weekend I stopped in the a Saks store and obtained some samples to try out. So far this has been the shining star. SM is a very classy, elegant and sexy fragrance. It does capture the essence of a good single malt scotch. I regularly attend whiskey tasting in my area and enjoy sampling a variety of single malts. One of the things I enjoy doing is to hold the whiskey glass under my nose and breath in through my mouth. That pulls all of the flavors of the drink into my nose. The scent I get from this fragrance very much reminds me of some of the single malt whiskies I have sampled over the years. I get great projection and longevity on my skin. Throughout the day I kept getting delicious whiffs. I can see this one in either casual or dress clothes. Bottom line: If you like whiskey / malt scents, you need to try this one. If you like this scent, try a whiskey tasting.

This truly is a remarkable scent, in both its evolution and its uncanny resemblance to fine whiskey. Kilian clearly explores his roots in this scent, and hits the nail right into the whiskey barrel, so to speak. Though hard to find in stores, I was able to visit the kilian botique in New York and finally smell this! The opening is VERY “boozy” as some have described. It instantly conjures an image of a fine whiskey being opened for the first time, breathing life into the room it is occupying. The plum dances across one’s senses, both sweet and intoxicating. After, the wheat takes life and gives a dry and hoppy note to the fragrance. The base notes are woody and rich, but there is always a touch of whiskey throughout the fragrance’s evolution. This is definitely a niche scent, and not for everybody. However, it is certainly a unique fragrance that will get you noticed and complimented. Overall Scent: 8.5/10 Sillage: 9.0/10 (one of the best for the house of Kilian) Longevity: 8.5/10 Adjectives: refined, mature, tasteful, rich, classy

Boozy Northern Night (Sidonie Lancesseur, 2015) Bottle Design: Carré Basset Scentrack The Last Shadow Puppets – My Mistakes Were Made For You Single Malt opens with a strong plum note which reminds me of plum compote or plum brandy. The Tolu balsam is definitely partly responsible for this extremely fruity opening. Beneath this plum note there is a darker grainy wheat note, sticky resinous and smoky notes. As composition progresses dark vanilla, moist tobacco and oak/cedar wood maturation notes are more pronounced. The composition is very compact and linear, but never overpowering. Single Malt is not a reinterpretation of peaty Islay whiskies. It does not possess the medicinal peaty kick of Islay single malts, as smelt in Profumum Roma Fumidus. Single Malt reminds me more of Johnnie Walker Black blended whisky with an extremely balanced composition of fruity Speyside malts, touch of smoke and strong vanilla finish of ex-bourbon cask maturation. Rating: 9/10

Starts out really boozy with a quite strong whiff of alcohol. Sweet, fruity notes of plum and malt. The vanilla in this is not overly sweet and balances well. Reminds me of my all time favorite Apple Brandy, and allthough less pronounced than AB, Single Malt is a very pleasant encounter. Like AB it ́s an instant hit with everybody who comes close to my wrist or neck. Sits close to the skin and not very loud. Maybe is this the key to its attraction. I, for one, wear perfumes for myself, more than to turn heads and leave traces of scent walking through a room. However it could have a far better longevity. Eventually Single Malt gets lovely oak-like notes, I really love this concept of bringing out the aroma of the oak barrels used for whisky, rum or cognac. This way it becomes a lot more than just a sweet gourmand like TM ́s Pure Malt etc. Another lovely by master nose Sidonie Lancesseur! 8/10

it IS indeed similar to 'apple brandy', but the differences become apparent a few hours in... they both start off boozy, deep, royal and majestic. After a few hours, apple brandy kinda remains linear (still LOVE it to death, though), whereas single malt developes and becomes a bit more woody-smoky. whatever incense in present certainly comes to the fore and kinda dominates the booziness. it's a balsamic (rich resin, benzoin-like) smoky boozy concoction. i need to try this a few more times, definitely, but from what i've experienced so far, i like it. can't smell it too much from my wrist (sillage is kinda low for a kilian scent), but it's not a linear scent. *tried alongside apple brandy...

I've never tried the original of this, but someone locally where I live made a dupe of Single Malt (other dupes spot on) and let me tell you it's one of the best perfumes I have ever smelled. Words can't describe. I was so sad to find out the original has been discontinued. Is it even possible to find a better perfume for fall than this. Bring it back! Planning to snag a sample of the original before it disappears forever.

Single Malt By Kilian is a plum basex, very boozy fragrance. Once sprayed, you will be able to immediately pick out the strong and distinctive scent of whiskey, although it is not listed. This fragrance is not mass appealing, as with most niche fragrances. However, it certainly is one of my favourites, alongside Apple Brandy. Longevity: 9.5/10 Sillage: 5.5/10 Projection: 6/10 Smell: 9.5/10 Price: 3/10 Overall: 8.5/10

Ow my lord..... A blind buy for me and so glad I did! A boozy malty spicy top that's to die for, yummy. Mid reminds me of apple brandy, the dry down is a nice spicy caramel like scent. Lasts ages, projection is ok but I would like it to be better. At last a Masculine fragrance from By Kilian, I cant stop smelling it from the bottle lol Only gripe is the price (for full presentation).

You can find a very close dupe of this fragrance (for much cheaper) in the Dua fragrances catalogue (Spiritus Dei). A very boozy whiskey fragrance with a strong wheat note. The plum and vanilla sweeten it and pull it in the feminine direction but not too much. It's easily a unisex fragrance in my opinion. If you love boozy scents i think this is a must have.

This is a gorgeous boozy plum. I don't know why the whiskey note isn't listed, but it's very noticeable. I don't feel that this leans too masculine and happily wear it. Straight unisex in my opinion. Just lovely. I couldn't stop smelling my wrist. It doesn't smell like them, but is in a similar vein of Tobacco Vanille, Herod, and Plum in Cognac

Where is the Malt? It should be renamed to Single Plum! If you want a Malty fragrance check out Pure Malt by TM. That said, it's still a very nice fragrance, if you ignore the price. Longevity? Life of a mayfly. I don't think I'll even bother checking out Apple Brandy.

This is heavenly. Warm, plummy, vanillac and woody. It has a baked fruit quality to it. Love at first sniff. It's a shame it's being discontinued. This is just beautiful. It leans maybe a hair masculine but it's soft at the same time

Sweet juicy plums macerated in whiskey. I love to layer with a woody vanilla to mellow out the booze. Rubs shoulders with OG Apple Brandy but more wearable for me. So glad I was able to find a bottle. Now off to purchase a refill!

Smells like Apple Brandy in the drydown. Get a heavy hit of plum on the initial spray and as it dries down it becomes this seductive sweet, woody, and fruit scent. Reminds me a bit of Baraonda, but Baraonda is much more boozy.

This is intoxicating, I like it about as much as Angel's Share, which is pretty crazy because I think Angel's Share is the most beautiful fragrance ever created - It's a total and complete masterpiece, and this one is close.

this reminds me of the huge parties I used to go to as a kid, where my family members are drinking booze and having a great time. quite nostalgic and surprisingly extremely wearable, despite it being extremely sweet.

The king of booze and cedar wood. High quality cedar wood if that exists.. I also get the inside of a fancy cigar box humidifier that was just emptied of the worlds finest cigars...super niche, super exclusive

if you love single barrel whiskey buy this and also Apple brandy, you are set for life both master piece this one I GIB 9/10 Apple Brandy 10/10 SO GOOD

Absolutely the BEST malty accord ever created in a fragrance! Smell stunningly luxurious! PS, the dry down is similar to Apple Brandy. :)

Very beautiful boozy scent. It gets me compliments from people who don't like fragrances. Definetely try this one.

probably the best one from Kilian In my opinion....great scent..great booze..longevity may be an issue

Really pleasant. Opening is boozy plum, and it dries down to a beautiful plum and apple pie smell.

One of the best smelling longest lasting kilians. Nothing to add that hasn’t been said.

definitely the best one from Kilian In my opinion

@heinthu - Old Fashioned does not have plum......

who is the nose behind this fragrance

In one word : Seductive!!!! 10/10

I agree with some other reviews that ive seen online that there is a bit of tobacco vibe here, as well as although not listed oak. What I dont agree with is that this smells anything like apple brandy. Apple brandy to me basically has a crisp and zestyness to it that is not here at all. Its also much more gourmand imo as it has a bit apple pie, or buttery caramel apple smell to go along with the cider. Nothing like that comes to mind at all with this. This is muuuuuuuuuch more woody and dry. This is basically a cedar scent. Theres a little bit of sweetness, a bit of boozyness, and even a little bit of tobaccoish smell at the beginning. To try to visualize it maybe something like imagine you got your chainsaw(if you own one I guess lol)and you are sawing through some oak tree, and the sap from the oak tree though is drizzling out this sweet sorta boozy plumish syrup, with vanilla. But no matter what you do through out this scent as you take every breath theres still the woodchips(or cedar chips)flying into your nostril and flying all around after you just destroyed this tree. This probably sounds like a bad review, but honestly its just sweet enough that its enjoyable for me, and it is pleasant. But it walks a fine line of smelling like pencil shavings as well. Although im not sure how you could but, if for some reason SL Chene with its oak and (supposeded)sweet boozy notes are to much for you, I dont see how you could stand this. Not as interesting as apple brandy since it doesnt really call anything to memory. But since I myself dont care about apple cider, butter carmel apples etc, I actually think this is better smelling. But thats obviously pretty biased. Performance was ok. Price is ridiculous of course but if your rich and you like it, go ahead and give it a try

I like the opening, the whiskey is noticeable but fades away to fast in my opinion. While the whiskey gets weaker and weaker untill barely noticeable, the soft wood comes forward to marry the vanilla and a cookie was born. A soft, vanilla cookie. I think apple brandy is better for my personal taste, more booze and a bigger dose of wood while maintaining the apple off course. Single malt goes vanilla pretty fast but it's a nice and gentle vanilla. On the other hand i have to say that single malt is easier to wear then apple brandy. I read people saying this is sweeter but to me apple brandy is way sweeter. If you like apple brandy but would like it less bold than maybe this one is for you. The longevity on single malt is pretty good. Projection especially the first hour is good, after that it becomes softer. Both scents, apple brandy and single malt are good. Being apple brandy my personal favourite of the two and both having some things in common i would say that single malt would be more suited to women who like these kind of scents and apple brandy for the men.

I don't get the comparison to Apple Brandy other than they both have booze as a backdrop. There is a sweetness here but I get sweetgrass and not fruit or vanilla. The Boozy aspect is far more dominant to me than Apple Brandy and I can almost taste it when I wear it. As i wear it, it loses the sweetgrass booze and warms down to something very pleasant. It appears to stick close to the skin and doesn't seem to last very long. I'm not sold yet. This may take some outside feedback...

Boozy at first, earthy and fruity (dried plums), sweet. I am not much of a whiskey drinker, but the aroma is there and I'd say more like one of those whiskey's that are blended with honey/vanilla. Immediately it starts to feel balmy, while maintaining the booze. The vanilla is becoming prominent in the dry down and the plum is still there, the booze is gone; now more resinous and woody. 7.5/10

Get the DUA version. More boozier and stronger and way cheaper. This is a bit resinous and a bit gourmand and a bit woody but boozy? Longevity and sillage is not the greatest either.

Love it from the first sniff. Surprisingly good. Far the best of Kilian fragrances to me. Will make this a gift for my love.

Sublime scent to the life's precious chapters...

The opening few seconds really got me fooled: it smell like an old oak cork of an ancient brandy bottle. Don't spend your money yet. The initial boozy blast quickly dissipates, an extra-sugar-preserved dried fruity notes take over: as if the brandy travel upstream in time, converting back to its fruits ingredients. At some point I can perceive a mellow sweet tuber-rooty notes : 板蓝根 to be precise, a bitter-sweet cocoa like Chinese herb. The cloying sweetness lasts and lasts for god knows how long, finally fades away.

Please don't blind buy this. It will last on you for a good long 45 mins. Open with soft boozy glenfiddich scotch whisky, then turn into tobacco scent. scent: 4/5 Projection: 1/5 Longevity: 1/5

Single Malt By Kilian takes you on a progressive journey from a beautiful boozy opening with a single malt accord, to a dry down of the oak wooden barrel still moist with booze it just held inside. Classy and Elegant. Mature, leaning serious in tone, but with traces of playful undertones. Well balanced. Non-linear. It opens with a woodiness like that of Straight to Heaven By Kilian, and begins to shift to a sweet spiciness reminiscent of Ambre Narguile by Hermes. As it begins going into mid, the plum becomes more prominent and even has a touch of smokiness. At this point I find it more wearable than ambre narguile/oajan because the sweetness is more balanced with wood here. So instead of a sweet tobacco, at this point it is a sweet woody tobacco. In this case, the sweetness coming form the plum and vanilla. The wheat note is present, and adds to the tobacco vibe. In contrast to Ambre Narguille, this blend of woodiness and wheat makes it more masculine, and more wearable in a work or serious setting because it is less playful. This fragrance definitely evolves within the first couple of hours. As it continues to develop, the woody smokiness turns to incense, due to the balsam/resin. So, as it begins to dry down it turns into an incensey plum. And now, it reminds me of a restrained Plum Japonais by Tom Ford. Finally in the dry down, the fragrance becomes once again aptly suited to the name. It smells of an oak wooden barrel moist with the sweet traces of the single malt whisky it just held inside. In the end, the smokiness has gone away, and the plum has gone away down. The resinous sweetness, an amber accord, becomes more prevalent and lays on a base of wood.The final fragrance it reminds me of at this point is Amber Bourbon by the Art of Shaving, but softer. The development of this fragrance is truly remarkable. This is definitely one of the best By Kilian fragrances in my opinion, and I do love it. Sure it is reminiscent of other fragrances, but it's development makes it very unique. It is not redundant to any the afore mentioned. In the mid, I wouldn't refer to this as a boozy fragrance, but I do get the boozy accord in the opening and in the dry down.

Commenting on fragrances is some how tricky, semi artistic and bit misleading affair because of mysterious nature of relation between fragrances and human sense of art and creation. being the pure subjective experience, some one is likely required to express how he feel red color in front of blind, yet he tries and some time may be successful if case pertains to the fragrance not color. if I am asked to express SM By Kilian, I would say Beauty make you to love, love renders a feel of intoxication. Now if I have to translate the feel in terms of fragrance, I WOULD NAME SINGLE MALT BY KILIAN.....It is smell of love, it is smell of heaven....yet it is supper sexy but supper serious. it expresses the purity and beauty of emotions and relations, and therefore if you look at the next to you through this gem, you will be surprised to have close encounter with some thing missing of yourself. sorry for bit philosophical comment, but it is......

On the fence with this one! It’s most definitely boozy and woody but that’s really All I get . I found it to be headache inducing :( I really want to like it but sadly I just don’t It’s definitely not the least bit feminine, It’s all man! Not the meek kind either I’m talking lumber jack rugged kind of a man or powerhouse attorney! Not a jeans and T-shirt kind of a guy!! Could a woman pull it off ? In my opinion absolutely not! I don’t mean to offend anyone!! I mean hey wear what you like! But it’s a no go for me and look I like all kinds Of masculine scents but this one is a pass! I know I said I was on the fence and then I went to basically hate it but I really wanted to like it I keep trying it and it’s just not me!

Single Malt is a beautiful scent. Unfortunately like most By Kilian fragrances it does not project and becomes a skin scent in about an hour. I can't justify spending $320 on a fragrance that goes "Straight to Heaven" in minutes. And I tried Straight to Heaven Extreme. More Rum and Vanilla did not equate to more projection or performance on my skin. Just more initial noise before converting to a skin scent within about an hour. I finally tried Pure Malt and I find it's a much better selection if you want a pleasant boozy scent that will project and maintain it's performance.

Hi..Laurynas..I can not impose my opinion to the others but I can tell you what is my feelings and perceptions regarding the comparison between SM and PM. The fact is I never ever thought to compare these two because IMO PM has nothing common with SM except the part of the name. SM is at the level so high that many of us may not be able to wonder how the intoxicant, captivating and supper luxurious is this Gem. However i will suggest to sample the both and decide by your self which one agrees with your taste and chemistry.

I m sorry I could not tell you how I take this SM thing. NOW I TRY TO TELL YOU PEOPLE thst SM is ultimate sex...it is ultimate art....it is ultimate Supper dupper art of creation of love, sex & ever is part of life....it crossed tv tom forf...it crossed Anigma roja dove...it crossed all claim of f*cling nichee lines of perfumes...nothing can compete SM...it is soooooooo suuuuupppppeeeeerrrr pefume......cider just supports, wheat makes the sex done...uffffffff

Unmistakably boozy. The notes you see are exactly what you get. If you can get a sample of this, do it. Leans masculine/mature. Perfectly suited for fall/winter or a nice night out. Not nearly as loud as some other Kilians but you’ll catch yourself getting whiffs of this throughout the evening. This is currently one of my favorites. Beware of fakes! This is not an easy bottle to find. If the price is too good to be true.. it is!

I wish I could smell anything resembling whiskey in this. That was the whole reason I wanted to check this out. But to my nose, this literally smells like straight up apple juice on initial spray. It evolves a little towards apple pie with raisins as it dries. Yeah, it's pleasant. But who the heck wants to spend $300 to smell like apple juice? I would definitely recommend you sample before dropping your hard earned cash.

Hello everyone, I am a little bit confused trying to figure out is this Single Malt really so similar, or almost the same smelling perfume as the Pure Malt by Thierry Mugler, which is definitely a very good perfume. Have compared the notes and accords, they seem to differ, but many reviews claimed these two being totally the same as it goes with the A Men and the Intoxicated by Kilian. Thank you for your help in advance!

So I received a complimentary sample of this, along with Pearl Oud and Lemon In Zest from By Kilian. This is good, but I don't get any booziness from this at all, nothing compared to Apple Brandy, and maybe that's what they were going for. This basically smelled like toasted malt and the longevity is actually very good about 8+hours. Smell 8/10 Longevity 9/10