Orange Bitters Cologne 2025

To me, Orange Bitters is a very versatile fragrance. Although it was released for Winter 2025, it mostly reminds me of Pimm's, which any Brit will associate with sunny summer days. It's a very nostalgic scent to me as a result and was one I knew I had to buy. Fresh out of the bottle, I get a strong bitter orange smell — very juicy, but not overly sweet. When I spray it on myself, some of that citrus remains, but I quite quickly get an emerging woodiness and spiciness. Although sandalwood is listed, it's not really soft to my nose, but rather more reminiscent of a sharper wood like vetiver or oak. Perhaps that's some of the dried plum coming through? The citrus definitely dissipates after an hour or two and leaves me with a spicy, earthy woody fragrance that sits fairly close to the skin. Jo Malone, as always, is not a house that particularly projects, but because of that, the fragrances are extremely wearable and versatile. Although it's a winter release, I actually prefer something heavier and darker for the winter, so I'd probably recommend this for spring, summer, or autumn. Because it's on the lighter end, that citrus and woody DNA works well for any sort of weather and doesn't turn cloying. I'd compare it to Cypress & Grapevine, another Jo Malone fragrance, in that it shares a similar sharp woodiness, but I much prefer Orange Bitters' dash of citrus and I find it less sharp overall. A fairly unisex scent and one that I think does exceptionally well on well-dressed men without leaning into the stereotypical choice of a blue freshie.

This scent is a citrus lovers dream. It’s orangey, tart, and sweet but in a juicy way. Very similar to Jo Malone’s marmalade scent, but a bit more refined. This deserves to be sold all year.

So yummy, just like orange bitters

This is nothing like the original orange bitters that I knew. The 2016 release was as one can guess about bitters and that bitter made the orange bitters better. One could almost taste it. That's all missing. Heavily disappointed with this 2025 release. Waited several years to add this to my collection but now it smells like some generic dishwashing detergent. Au contraire Bitter Mandarin is fabulous.

Opens with fresh photorealistic orange peel and dries down sandalwoody ambery resiny goodness. A true cold weather scent. Smells like a Jaguar made a wish to become human and play in a jazz club downtown. I haven't loved a scent this much in a long time.