Spirit of the Glen

I’m not a fan of the DS&Durga perfumes. They promise good stories on paper, but often smell overly synthetic and predictable in reality. However, their 2013 HYLNDS project was truly unique in scent, materials, and quality. The perfumes tell stories from Celtic folklore, and each features specific, rarely used accords: Larch in Bitter Rose, Meadowsweet in Isle Ryder, and Pineappleweed in Spirit of the Glen. Although not a drinker, I enjoy boozy accords in perfumery, as well as tasting and smelling various spirited drinks in real life. I find them fascinating in terms of their odor and complexity of taste, just like perfumes. In perfumery, most of the boozy fragrances I know and enjoy seem to excessively use certain materials (usually to add warmth and depth) and, as a result, end up feeling overall heavy, rough, and rugged - either too smoky, sweet, woody, etc. The only “Bacchic” perfume (outside the protagonist of this review) I came across that was smooth and classy all around was Roja’s Creation-E or Enigma pour Homme. Mr. Dove has his haters, but one can’t deny the man has taste and knows how to convey it through his perfumes. In Enigma, I found the first “classy boozy” perfume where the perfect Cognac accord marries so well to the vanillic, powdery benzoin and the spices. The only problems for me were the linear development, becoming dull after the hour mark, and the somewhat predictable and “approachable” character of the composition. And for that, I have found the perfect, improved version in Durga’s Spirit of the Glen. If you gave me to sniff this fragrance blindfolded, I could have sworn it was a Roja. What I mean by that is that it has that degree of polish, smoothness, sophistication, and “posh” that you’ll only find in Mr. Dove’s creations. Imagine that gracious execution but with an “artisanal” soul and vision. That is what we have here. I was preparing for a bold whiskey accord with a substantial amount of smoke and sweetness to complement it, and I was caught off guard. This is an outdoorsy, open-field, meadowy, naturalistic scent that evokes the green plains of Scotland, featuring an ethereal "Scotch of the highest quality" accord and the most restrained use of oakwood, supported by gentle malty and vanillic facets in the base. The major players are the Pineappleweed, Whiskey accord, and the Oakwood. The former is used here brilliantly, and I wish there were more of it in perfumery, especially in Agrestic compositions. Its scent and taste are delightful, highly reminiscent of Chamomile, but with a sweet-fruity undertone that recalls, you guessed, Pineapple. Therefore, as soon as you spray this perfume, you are greeted by this fruity, herbaceous, and green aroma paired with the finest, smoothest whiskey money can buy. The fruitiness smells like a combination of pear and pineapple, balanced by a warm, grassy sensation. The whiskey is not the type that burns your throat, but rather, the perfectly aged liquor with no after-burn and an explosion of flavors: fruity, woody, malty, and sweet. Very aromatic and light for a bacchic perfume. If you think it’ll continue to get rough as it transitions to the heart and base, don’t worry, it doesn’t. As it develops, the oakwood starts to become more assertive while the herbaceous, pastoral elements move slowly in the background, yet never leave the scene. The oakwood is treated, as the rest of the perfume, with great care. A material that is quite polarizing on its own; woody, smoky, peaty, with strong whiskey, vanillic, toffee, and fruity-like undertones. Here, the emphasis is placed on its woody, boozy, and vanillic facets, while the smokiness is toned down to a simmer and maintained throughout. Hence, you’ll get smoke, but it’s more like the fog that often covers the Northern plains. Lastly, the final addition to the flow is the malty and vanillic aspects, bringing about warmth and subtle sweetness. It never becomes cloying. I want to reiterate, there is not one rough edge to this perfume. The smoke won’t make your eyes tear, the spirit won’t burn your throat, the fruitiness won’t make you think of little umbrella cocktails, and the sweetness won’t have you reach for the insulin shot. It strikes a perfect balance. Treated with meticulous care, aged to perfection, imbued with the Scottish flair and burning desire for freedom, freedom to roam the vast and green lands that characterize it, Spirit of the Glen may just be the most refined and perfect Bacchic perfume out there, at least that I know of. IG:@memory.of.scents

Absolutely in love with this one. The opening is fresh and sharp for me, but the greenness and grass quickly settles down into warm hay (hello, tonka bean) which then mellows into this addicting woody, carmelly-without-being-sweet vanilla - which, come to think of it, yes, is all present in a great whiskey. I wouldn't have guessed the boozy inspiration, but after reading about it, it makes a lot of sense, though it never smells boozy in the way that some scents do. This changes gradually over time on my skin before fading away to a faint woody vanilla near the skin - none of the stank or sudden changes some others have experienced. I think personally I'm just a sucker for that sort of oak-vanilla base - a similar base shows up in Imaginary Authors Memoirs of a Trespasser which is also among my favorites. Silage is enormous at first but quickly settles down to skin, sadly fades after about 3-4 hours.

This opens very unusually with a petroleum, medicinal sweetness. I can smell the woods right away beneath those notes. The listed top notes aren't even detectable, so strong is the petroleum feeling of this. So far, I'd say It is very interesting, but this will only appeal to the person who enjoys completely out of the box scents all Slumberhouse. This is not fragrance for the body so much as fragrance for art. I'll add my impressions of the dry down later. I missed the middle portions of this scent, but now, about 8 hours later, this has dried down to something very soft and squishy. It's turned quite sweet, the original opening notes are still there, but very much faded into the background. The sweetness is almost chocolaty, or is that marshmallow? I'll be giving this another try.

Definitely my favorite from the line, along with Bitter Rose, Broken Spear. Its a very suggestive smell, you can imagine scottish whisky in oak casks maturing somewhere in the rugged landscape of the scottish Highlands. Slightly sweet, but not too much, starting bit fruity and malty, I can also smell the oak wood, hay and moss with a bit of something medicinal, probably camomile, and it has a smoky vanilla finish. Also a great performance on me. Its one of the most unique smells I have ever tried, never smelled anything like this. Too bad it was discontinued because I love it to bits☹️

I love this scent, but it is interesting, I do not smell any of the notes mentioned-well maybe a couple. To me it smells exactly like D.S. & Durga's own website describes it: " all accords of whiskey making, with vanilla wood, it reminds one of Glenlivet 18". It smells so much like what you would imagine an old English library would be. Smoky malty whiskey, wood, leather with a touch of the fruit used to make the alcohol. It is delicious, and although I only got a sample, I am now looking for a bottle.

My Favorite DS & Durga! This is such an interesting fragrance. Its warm and sweet without being syrupy. There is the hint of whiskey and vanilla without being too obvious. For me, this is a multi-layered and sophisticated scent. I love that it isn't too sweet or overpowering and manages to strike an excellent balance between sweet and savory. I always wear a little on my wrist so I can smell it throughout the day. Very unique and delicious.

Gorgeous woody scent with beautiful undertones of hay and chamomile. To me, it smells like a woodland field when the plants are starting to succumb to fall. It's very natural and smooth, no discordant notes. Sillage soft, longevity all afternoon. I love wearing this. The woody accord reminds me of a magical forest - perfect scent for Aragorn son of Arathorn!

A Footnote: I have driven myself crazy trying to get a sample of this fragrance. I see Barney's sells it for $180, but all I want is a sample. I have gone to every source I can find. I am thinking of getting some Glenlivit and splash some behind my ears. I will never give away a sample of anything ever again.

Spirit of the Glen is absolutely beautiful...even my boyfriend who can care less about perfume was interested in this one...great unisex scent, not too overpowering, with good lasting power...this is whiskey, wood, hay with a touch of sweetness...absolutely love this...

My first boozy fragrance. Extremely boozy and challenging at first. But the deep drydown was somewhat creamy, vanillic to my nose. I layer terrae essence on top of this to somewhat highlight the fruity opening more while also adding dark depth on the deepening drydown.

My final try from D.S. & Durga's Hylnds, line, I expected from the name that Spirit of the Glen that it would be green, leaning on "Glen," but the pun is more on the "Spirit" as it smells mainly of liquor from initial application onward. It's definitely boozy, but in a flammable lighter fluid mixed with whiskey sort of way, with woody undertones as the main complementary feature to this spicy, fumey booziness. I'm not quite sure what in the notes breakdown yields this sort of flammable liquid smell, so my guess is that it's a function of the bourbon mixed with woody notes (oak, cask) and hay, which tends to be pretty pungent. Overall, a stronger entry in the way of performance and provocativeness but I'm not sure this is something I'd enjoy. The very woody pine resin fragrance is one I understand, as is the boozy, semi-sweet fragrance, but a boozy fragrance that leans woody and almost spicy to point of smelling like gasoline, as another reviewer points out, is a a tough sell. Still, it's an interesting composition that's worth smelling if it sounds good. 7 out of 10

The opening of Spirit of the Glen absolutely nails it. Sova of Slumberhouse you have a brother. The top notes are complimentary and beautifully done. However after about 10 minutes, the cohesion of the initial hit begins to separate into at least two distinct scents. It becomes bi-modal. The two scents drift so far apart in character, they no longer meld as one. One strand presents with a sweetness reminiscent of fairy-floss sugar. The Malt maybe ? The other presents as quite skanky (hay ?) Hay is one of my favorites, but this is more than hay. In the third phase skank, dominates. My guess is that the sweet component has a higher volatility and burns off more quickly than the scent of skank from body heat. I prefer the lack of Tobacco in Spirit of the Glen compared to Sova. Both are sweet, Glen settles down with a sweetness that dominates too much in the mid notes with Skank then taking over in the latter base notes, softening after 1/2 hour or so. The ride from top notes to mid and finally base is far too quick. Longevity and sillage are on the low side.

A boozy aromatic masculine fragrance, this perfume is a collaboration between D.S. & Durga and Scottish whiskey maker Glenlivet. The perfume has a brief opening where one can detect fruity notes such as pear and pineapple. The heart is a woody herbal oak, chamomile and hay. Finally it settles into a dense boozy base of malt, coal, woody notes, vanilla and a very prominent whiskey. Nicely blended (masculine leaning) with moderate to strong projection and sillage, and good longevity. Only recommended for those who like things a bit herbal and boozy in life, others may find it a bit pungent . Enjoy!

It reminds me of a hotel I used to stay at when I was younger. Maybe it's the chamomile. So I get this very luxurious, velvety, comfortable feeling when I sniff it. I dislike the woods, but I guess that is integral to the concept. Initially, I got a bad yogurt/milk impression and then at the end I get more wood than I want. But altogether I'd probably wear it more often because it's so comforting.

Wowser, this stuff is potent. I really, really tried not to scrub my hand after sample testing it and tried to keep an open mind but it definitely has a strong medicinal kick to it blended with a Hay vibe and a splash of alcohol. The hand scrubbing happened after 30 minutes. I left the tiny sample vial at the office... A closed vial and it still gave colleagues a headache... So far people have said that it smells like Dr Scholl's Wart Remover, Icy Hot, Bubblegum, petroleum and has a medicinal quality to it. Not attractive - The reaction from the men in the office was super negative. Too nauseating and headache inducing, I'll definitely give this a pass.

Can't stand whiskey and can't stand this scent so I guess it's well done. All I get from this is overwhelming over-sweet whiskey, nauseating gray mustiness, and an undertone of stagnant bog slime. The "spirit" of the glen must be a dreadful, dead, drunk swamp-monster. Read on to the other reviews tho before giving up. There are certainly a lot of people who love this one. Just not me.

CHAOS AT MAX! Malt sweet earthy notes woods allot of coal & some floral. Boozy with sour grains & seeds. I had high hopes for this one since it has Wine note but nah, it's just too chaos for my taste.

The mild sweetness of the "Spirit of the Glen" whisky in the top note is overwhelming - but at the same time gentle. Not too tart, the whisky has a slightly sour-wheaty, caramel-like bourbon note. Little by little, the scent becomes tart. The oak wood, green-peat smoked grasses and camomile become more intense and at the same time the liquor-like sweetness of the top note fades. As if from charred oak barrels, an earthy, spicy patchouli-like aroma rises up into my not yet reddened nose. "Spirit of the Glen" becomes smokier after a while. Its grasses get a nice leathery addition in the base. This is also accompanied by a nice vanilla-tobacco note, which seems to be from the sawn bourbon barrels. Finally, this sweet note is completed by a light hay layer containing only a hint of barley malt. Finally, the finish is as dry as if the whisky had never been there before. And this is what makes it so incredibly attractive. The beautiful development of "Spirit of the Glen" fits my memory of how Lowland's whisky has affected me: I like the fragrance, it attracks all eyes, then become more intense and deeper and finally has a familiar warmth. With a longevity of 8 hours, I'm on the road all day with a warm, light-sweet, multi-layered and refined fragrance. The sillage is strong at the beginning, but diminishes somewhat with time as the gently sour whisky blends wonderfully with the vanilla-like sweetness, which I like very much. This very unique and delicious scent in my opinion is a masterpiece. Fragrance 9/10, Longevity 8/10, Sillage 7/10, Flacon 7/10

Interesting. New Friends English translation has been deleted but all of his/her many, many 'fragrance reviews' in another language are left on this Board. They seem to be long diatribes of a garbled political nature if you catch them in English before they are deleted.

What the heck is going on with "New friend" reviews? A long garbled mess that has no reference to fragrances. Monitors of this Board need to look into this.

Anyone selling a bottle? or large decants? I'm head over heels and I'll pay you WHATEVER YOU WANT! :)