Madras Cardamom

Wonderful stuff: thick, soupy, dark, deliciously rich, extremely strong Turkish/Arabic/Greek* coffee (*delete as appropriate to your background and politics), slurped from a tiny cup and savoured to the last drop. Absolutely loaded with a pin-sharp and true-to-life version of the cardamom pods & seeds, so if you are at all ambivalent about the spice then leave this one well alone. The wood notes are deep, chocolatey, not sweet but certainly gentle, not any kind of weird-medicinal-mothball wilder shore of oud, just a reassuringly solid, warm backdrop to the tang of the spice. True unisex if this dark, redolent, very punchy aroma makes you feel good. Sillage is discreet; longevity not astonishing, but very very robust (robusta?) throughout and still smellable up to 6-7h in, so it really can just about manage to do a full day's work. I am often unenthusiastic about coffee in fragrance (even though I'm fanatic for the liquid - thousands of good flat whites run through my veins) so was honestly surprised to like this as much as I do. Wanna go for coffee with me? If you promise to wear this, any date should go well. You'll smell fabulous.

A very refined concoction of cardamom, cedar, vetiver, and coffee. As a person that cannot withstand heavily oversaturated cardamom fragrances, I can't help but appreciate the allure and complexity of Zegna's cardamom themed creation. In short, this seems to be Zegna's answer to Oud Wood, but instead Madras Cardamom is predominantly a dry cedar and coffee fragrance, with vetiver as a supporting role (and of course a huge emphasize on cardamom). The cardamom, however, is a different take and unlike any other I've smelled before. The cardamom here is very fresh, unripe, bitter and herbaceous. Very realistic as if the cardamom pods were freshly plucked from the plants themselves and wrapped in haitian vetiver, covered in planks of cedar. The coffee provides an obfuscation element of smoke, that really gives the impression of incense. The vanilla acts mostly as a supporting layer, and aids in rounding off the base. The scent comes off as classy, reserved and stylish, as expected from the house of Zegna. Discontinued now, and I'm sure the rest of the Essenze line will soon follow suit.

Madras Cardamom is a fragrance that I really liked, it has phases with the aroma of coffee, citrus, woods and spices. At the start you can feel fresh notes of citrus, cardamom and a roasted coffee aroma, the aroma is delicious in these first minutes. Afterwards, the citrus and coffee fade, but the cardamom remains and woody notes gain presence, such as vetiver and ambroxan, and also some notes between balsamic and minty. This last phase is also very pleasant. The fragrance is woody but fresh, in the Terre de Hermes style without resembling at all in aroma, rather in the elegant and semi-formal type, with a slightly mature style. It is a fragrance for use all year round. It lasted more than 10 hours, but it is not a fragrance that projects much.

It’s like arabian coffee that spiced " flavored" by cardamom but much denser near to turkish coffee style sweetened by vanille,enjoyable cosy and rounded by warmth, you can enjoy the experience more when you are in cool autmospher drinking your fave coffee and the smoke of the oud filling the air. a scent for relax and a peace of mind IMO if this scent contained oud and hint of saffron with leather and rose by same ingredients quality could be one of the best oriantal perfumes "."

This reminds me of an ice cream I used to get. The fragrance is a cardamom lover's dream. I get a natural coffee note that is supported by a soft fresh vanilla and vetiver. Madras Cardamom is best suited for cool environments and weather. Don't expect a beast, but it does have a decent scent bubble for hours. Quite unique and doesn't really remind me of many other fragrances. One of kind.

Agree, with the previous reviews. The scent is superb! But the longevity and projection ́s really low. A great but discreet fragrance!

This line unfortunately is underwhelming Yes it’s true the quality of these creations are top notch but it’s not enough to buy a full bottle The only fragrance that is worth buying is Indonesian oud .... It’s perfect Going back to this one it’s was spicy it was pleasant a very close reminder of Arabian coffee but not the best depiction The category where it falls short like most of the line is the performance in the third hour it lost its power another pass

Refreshing cardamom, fresh pink pepper bergamot, smoky coffee and calm woody make you feel like an adult man. With the sweetness of Labdanum and Ambroxide, it has an elegant but easy-to-apply scent.

Refreshing blast that can truly unclog blocked nose! Lol. Unfortunately it doesn’t project at all and almost no longevity.

Very pleasing and interesting dry coffee scent with hints of sweetness. Performance is below average

Very syrupy coffee scent. Almost a gourmand, and much sweeter than I was expecting. Cardamom is weak and disappears in less than an hour. The Coffee scent disappears soon after that. There's some other woody notes but they are fleeting and rare. The projection is very weak, and after the initial blast it settles down within minutes to a very tight scent bubble. I could barely smell it at all on myself. The entire scent seems to disappear by 2 hours in,.... then about an hour later starts to mysteriously reappear as a fairly standard, warm and slightly sweet amber, which is not at all unpleasant. This amber smell really sticks around: 6, 7 hours later I can still smell it. But that's not what you dropped the money on this for, now was it? Disappointing.

It smells exactly same as Nescafe Arabiana coffee .. Not recommend

finally ill add a few words about this fragrance I've sample a few months back. I had high hopes, begin im a huge cardamom man. First 1st hr. After applying this fragrance i found the fragrance to replace my beloved Intoxicated by Killian. 2hrs later it was gone, i mean completely gone. I was stunned 😯 reapplied it same results. No way any one should spend 200 for this. That being said, I stumbled across a fragrance to me smell very similar, ill say even better and no longevity issues, for a whopping 140 bucks cheaper. L'Homme Rochas, yeah thats right, got a decant of this and will be buying 2 bottles very soon. Major props to Rochas. Rochas is what madras cardamom should have been. Save your money.

I am not a coffee drinker per se, but I love to drink a cup from time to time from my favourite Najjar with extra cardamom. The initial blast of Madras Cardamom reminds me of opening a brand new package of Najjar and inhaling this divine combination of arabic coffee and a hefty dose of cardamom. Like every Zegna that I own this one has a very natural smell and it's been blended perfectly. The fragrance is modest, but so warm and stylish. I'd never thought that I am gonna like it, nevertheless I blind bought a bottle of Madras Cardamom and I have absolutely no regrets. If you like this one you should also check out Oud Divin by Robert Piguet.

A beautiful gem really loved this one. Fleeting on skin but sticks on clothing almost eternally. Beautiful sillage. Shines best in the windy cold dry autumn months, windy nights after the rain. Day/night in the cool August break, and windy cold spring evenings. Best in autumn though. Let it macerate for a long time over 6 months to a year. Spray a soft cloud in between your fabric and let the dry cold air lift its beautiful to die for scent trail. Definitely not for the hot days outdoors. Good for air conditioned work spaces for those in warmer clime and flying business class - perfect 👍

I am not sure what the point of this is. It is way too herbal. Amouage's Braken man suffers the same problem essentially an expensive air freshener. Most people do not want to smell of Cardamon or bracken. Initially it is bright and spice then it becomes increasingly sweet and subtle, but its just unidiemensional cardamon. If you want a spice based scent that pulls off depth and is multifaceted then Amouage's Fate Man does Cumin with incense and wood and booze better than anyone else. Fragrance: 6.75/10 Projection: 7/10 Longevity: 7/10

Great opening. No mistaking what it is, and a wee bit of spiciness to add to the character. However, it has a very short throw and vanishes too quickly. For the price I paid, I dont feel I got my money's worth. Positively will not be buying again. Spice Bomb does a much better job.

You better like cardamom, because this cardamom fragrance is gonna slap your face with cardamom, see how many times I squeezed in the word cardamom?, the scent feels like that. I don't smell anything else, maaaaaaybe a little coffee. Not for me... :)

A superb cardamom scent with super-low longevity and minimal projection. Scent-wise though a fabulous one.

Not really my style. I have an unused bottle for sale, message me.