Birch & Black Pepper

Aromatic and peppery, this is a nice one. The three notes listed (black pepper, cardamom and birch) are perfectly blended so not one sticks out or overshadows the other. Together they harmonize and make a nice fresh liner scent. Can be worn day or night, business or casual, summer or winter, an all around transitional fragrance that is very easy to wear. The ink note is very slight and gives this a more modern unusual edge that sets this apart. Longevity and projection is slightly below average, but I do get light whiffs of it even after 3 or 4 hours. Light, transparent and natural smelling there is really not anything to offend or turn anyone off. One of the better Jo Malones out there imo.

Assuming this is the same formulation as the original Rock of Ages limited edition, I would say it is a quite fantastic, classic “formal” fragrance, definitely a spicy masculine one rather than a unisex as its marketing label proclaims.

Not a review but a QUESTION: Being a lover of the original limited edition Jo Malone Rock The Ages Birch & Black Pepper, could anyone perhaps comment on how or to what extent this *newer* release compares to that original?

It is the same scent as the Rock the Ages edition , just now it's in a bigger bottle. I tested it today . I own the bottle of the Rock the ages one. Will get this too. This bottle is UGLY

Initially out in 2015 and now part of the "Huntsman" collection. Birch & Black Pepper is to my nose different than it used to be. The first perfume was very peppery and tarry (as its name implied) and although not terribly long-lasting or that edgy it did have a jitter in it; a short of sour woody phase before the more standard amber drydown. This is now gone for a more run of the mill cardamon and soft woods (and artificial ambers as a matter of fact) approach which leaves me unmoved. Also, it sells for more (close to 160E) so I won't be pulling the trigger (actually not even aim the gun).

This opens with gourmand black pepper, not as biting as something like bang from Marc Jacobs. It has a smokey quality, almost to the point of a high-end cooking competition. The wood is sweet and nearly... romantic? The idea of someone in a newly built tree house comes to mind, but one with an open floor plan that leaves skitter across in the wind. Maybe I'm expressing poorly that while the namesake is Huntsman, it doesn't feel wild or feral. Maybe like the menswear this is put together and planned. A curated huntsman; with maybe a flannel involved but it's under a silk blend sweater. He smells like a fire because that tree house has a stray candle next to the router. If that sounds like negativity, I think the opposite is true. This was the only acceptable woodiness and masculinity that could be settled upon. Despite the sweetness, there is still enough of the ruggedness in the scent, that this beast was tamed enough to prim up with a bottle of. You are safe in these woods either way and props for not jumping on Sauvage and Bleu's back. If you stood next to a pellet smoker, this would pass as not cologne it's for outdoors without being outdoorsy.

You can see from my collection I'm a fan of Jo Malone scents and the whole layering concept. I've been lucky enough to get hold of a couple of rare JM 9ml Guiacwood and Amberwood bottles (part of the Chronicles "book" that was once sold) so I know how certain woods can dominate a scent. I love the black cedarwood scent in the London Rain range but this one...bleh! To the poster below mentioning "leaky ballpoint pen"..I'd like to add that the pen is in a beardy 50 something chain-smoking schoolteacher's vintage tweed jacket pocket along with some damp pencil shavings and a grey old eraser. I think it was part of the Huntsman/ saville row series and there is also hint of the cloth heavy fitting room of a bespoke suit tailor in there as well. Curiosity made me hunt a half used 30ml bottle down and now I'm patiently trying to get through it...but it's really not for me, nor does it layer well with anything I have...Think I'll leave the Huntsman series well alone..

Can't comment on its comparison to the Rock The Ages version, but ugh I'm not a fan of this one. Just tested it out last night and the opening is warm, spicy and slightly smokey, so I had high hopes. But almost immediately it settled down into what it would be for the rest of the time, and I cannot stress enough how literal I'm being here: it smells like if you found an old leaky ballpoint pen in the bottom of a box of costume jewellery at a yard sale. That kind of powdery musty old lady perfume smell undercut with the metallic ink and smell of the metallic bits on the jewellery. I'm a huge fan of JM's other woody fragrances (currently wearing the Cade and Cedarwood and I have the English Oak and Hazelnut and Black Cedarwood and Juniper) but this one just does not have the same vibe at all on my skin.

If I was ever to star in a 'reverse' Lady Chatterley reboot (think British aristo bloke in tweed, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, working class buxom female farm hand played by....well.me)....this is the scent Johnathan would be wearing. It's all crisp outdoorsy ' woods' (nudge nudge wink wink) and smoke from the fire ( I was cooking my supper on, outdoorsy nature gal that I'd be). It's British winter in the countryside to me ( and being inflagrante against a tree apparently). Not sure why others comment on poor longevity, 'goes like the clappers' on me.

I bought this at a discount store for Esteé Lauder and it is still expensive for the performance it brings. The scent is beautifully simple, woody, and peppery. But longevity is ridiculously short. I overspray and use body oil first, to boost the timeline of the cologne, but I only get a skin scent less than an hour in. I layered with 4 spays of Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir and I can easily smell that one through my clothes, but have to find the Birch and Black Pepper on me. The Huntsman Line is gladly being phased out, so this one will too.

I like the Huntsman concept and I’ve tried them all but...in common with all JM fragrances the performance is non-existent. Claiming it even comes close to average performance would be stretching the truth quite significantly, in my opinion. For that reason I never pull the trigger on these...