Treacle

Treacle is a real stunner of a tobacco perfume, and one of the several I find to really deviate from the Pineward DNA. This stuff is no joke. It's funny how Nick, the perfumer, notes Eldritch as the "challenging" offering, when there are a handful that I find to be much more bold and daring. Treacle is the definition of bold and daring. At least in the opening, that is. That lapsang souchong (black tea smoked over pine logs - a material Nick seems to be fond of) is front and centre in the opening. This is one you cannot judge right from the top. Even I sometime wince upon first spray. You're hit with a smoky, tarry, almost meaty/peaty woodsmoke accord, that can honestly remind one of bacon, or a smoky Islay dram. This smoke encases a very real, very dark, very dense burley tobacco absolute. I'd bet real money on there being other tobacco absolutes in here, too, as there's somewhat of a sweet, moist, dark vanillic Cavendish facet, and as it wears on, maybe some softer, leafy Virginia, too. Thankfully, that wall of smoke fades, and it fades rather quickly, too. Before long, the smokiness settles to a trace in the background, and you're left with a very real, very potent tobacco bomb. There are nuances of black treacle, and some honeyed sweetness drizzled over top, and there's a prominent, but balanced vanillic counterpoint, which may simply be a facet of the tobacco itself, but the dense, sticky, dark tobacco absolute remains the focal point, and as the hours pass, it follows a trajectory of increasing mellow, vanillic sweetness, with less and less brash smokiness, reaching a midway point where the meaty smoke is but a distant memory of the opening, and the subtle sweet, warm cloven spice of the tobacco casing becomes more and more apparent. Treacle isn't quite as transportive as some other Pineward offerings, nor is it remotely as complex - but, for what it is - a tobacco perfume, it outclasses most of its rivals, and brings to the table its own unique spin and skill set. I'm not transported to beautiful pastoral scenes of idyllic farmlife in autumn, or dense enchanted forests of Tolkien lore, but I find this to be a near-perfect dark, bold, semi-sweet tobacco bomb, and it certainly conjures up feelings of autumn, winter, and the crisp air - serving as a sort of warm, comforting blanket, with a rugged, burley exterior. This isn't your Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, your Parfums de Marly Herod, and it's definitely not your Mancera Red Tobacco. Sure, there's some festive cloven spice, some dark, vanillic undertones, and a brash leafiness about it, but if those are your tobacco references, this one is going to grab you by the collar, and shout at you, demanding you understand what *real* tobacco absolute smells like, and once it convinces you, then it will hold you close, in its warm, soft, and comforting embrace. Maybe my single favourite tobacco perfume, and truly, a must-try for any tobacco lovers. Beautiful stuff. And to settle this once and for all - Treacle bears zero, and I mean ZERO resemblance to Slumberhouse Sova. Not even the same ballpark. Jeke, on the other hand - I can see and understand the comparisions - there's some similarity in the tobacco nuance for sure, yes - but this veers off in a much different, much bolder, darker and less sweet direction, with a very different DNA. You'd have to really torture Jeke, send him to the gulag for a while, and make him convert his religion to get him smelling like Treacle... But sure, there's some shared elements. Hope this helps :)

Treacle from Pineward Perfume. I find this one to be a unique take on the Tobacco genre. Some people compare it to Jeke from Slumberhouse, but I get none of that. This one was a little too much when I first tried it several years ago. It felt rather rough and smoky in the opening, albeit the dry-down was quite manageable. With time, I got used to the introduction, and now I thoroughly enjoy that smoky Lapsang and Raisin combo that opens up the fragrance. It is quite a punch, especially if your regular tobacco kick comes from perfumes like Naxos, Herod, Vanille Havane, and Co. Moreover, many artisanal tobacco perfumes feel rather meek by comparison. It opens up very smoky and tacky. The smokiness comes from the combination of Lapsang Tea (very well captured) and the raisin absolute. The tobacco accord feels moist, almost like chewed tobacco leaves. If you know those Cowboy movies where they munch on tobacco and spit it out. That's how I picture the tobacco accord in Treacle. The aroma is full-bodied and rich. The raisin renders a slightly dried fruit quality, although it shouldn't scare people who don't like this dried fruit dessert (I love it) off. The honey and the molasses create this viscous sensation, hence the name. It is a thick perfume. And sweet also. However, I find the sweetness well kept in check by the other accords. As it dries down, the smokiness dissipates while the gooey texture shifts toward a more powdery one. I don't know what gives off that powderiness (perhaps the resins), but it gets dusty on my skin, leaving a soft, warm trail of powdery tobacco adorned with honey, lapsang, and soft fruity nuances. It is a solid tobacco perfume that is worth checking out for lovers of this genre. Also unique, which is a big bonus. IG:@memory.of.scents

The start is pure tobacco -- my brother used to smoke 'rolling' tobacco, and he once had this Dutch brand (it said 'shag' on the packet and I used to laugh at that), and that's what this smells like for me. Not the dried, chopped and prepared cigarette tobacco, but the actual, moist, stringy stuff that you can roll into cigarettes (okay, joints too!). Right after application, you can get traces of the tooth-achey sugar goodness. For me, it's not molasses (never really used/smelt it, truth be told), but the Indian jaggery, which is a form of sugar, if memory serves correct. It's raw, unprocessed and right-in-your-face sweet. No hiding behind anything here, it's sweet. All of this; the moist tobacco, the raw sugar and the sweetness is tempered by the bitter, medicinal lapsang souchong. Maaan...all three elements are present and in balance, and the tea adds the required depth, base and funk to make this work. The layering on this is INSANE -- I have to concentrate to separate notes and accords, and that for me is a sign that there's been a shedload of work done in this. The lapsang can stray into the 'too bitter' territory for mine. Drinking-wise, it's a tea that not everyone likes, and in my 6+ years living in China (let's be honest here), I only met a handful of people who consumed this frequently. It is an acquired taste, sorta like blue cheese, anchovies or shrimp paste, etc. All three ingredients blend seamlessly to create a beast of a scent. You gotta try it, you just gotta...

My first sampling of Pineward, a house that has been drawing me in for some time: Heir of Slumberhouse, Holder of the Flame of Apoteker Tepe, Keeper of Seriously Woody Fragrances. I'm delighted to have discovered Treacle: an aptly-named melange of woods, tobacco and resinous honey, as dark and viscous as treacle itself. It opens with a whiff of freshly-shredded tobacco leaves, so pungent that you almost choke. Is this derived from Virginia Flue Cured or a blend of similar fresh, robust leaves? Whatever its provenance, the tobacco absolute note then mingles with notes of tea and dried fruit, like the mix of sacred herbs, barks and leaves in a Native American peace pipe. The "smokiness" is subtle: this is a fragrance that captures the elements of its composition as they meet and mingle, rather than assaulting the senses with the ensuing conflagration, like a burnt offering. If you are a serious tobacco enthusiast (as opposed to someone who likes subtle tobacco notes in perfumery), Treacle will send you into seventh heaven. I love the scent of tobacco but I have never smoked tobacco in my life and I do not intend to start. With a fragrance like this, I will never need to.

Treacle, very apt name for this! This is not pussy footing around, this one means business. It was strong and thick right at first spray, sticky, resinous and I totally get the smoky lapsang souchong tea as I love this tea. I also feel the sweet molasses and honey, the tobacco and raisins, I get it all. What starts out so chewy and resinous does calm on my skin to become softy smokey and incense like and still the honey and and other notes are there in whiffs. I feel this is complex. I even got a coca cola scent rising off my arm. I like this a lot. It's definitely different from other perfumes I have sampled from Pineward. Good one! I had to edit this to say this is the first real tobacco perfume I have smelled as it was never my genre so to speak, but I started getting memories of my Grandfather who smoked a pipe, omg!