Tambour Sacre

What a fascinating, original accord! It opens fresh and spicy, somehow both cool and warm, with a vibe that reminds me of a sunny glass atrium opening out into a sculpture garden. Then we get sweet nectarous tuberose, almost golden or orange, with a roasted coffee note beneath. It’s a weird combo but it works! Perfectly smooth from top to bottom, as though tuberose had a coffee facet already. It’s meant to evoke Ethiopia, which I wouldn’t know about; to me the coffee smells of the fresh-ground beans at the grocery co-op of my childhood, while the tuberose smells of a brilliant summer day with rich flower scents on the breeze. I love tuberose, and part of the fun is that there are so many different takes on it. Tuberose can be green and stemmy (Nuit de Bakelite), bright-pink and ultra-feminine (Fracas), sleek creamy white (Carnal Flower), or root-beer brown (Tubereuse Criminale). Tambour Sacre is a wholly original and enjoyable addition to the tuberose lineup: rich, sweet, golden, and anchored in spices and dark roasted coffee beans. I’m increasingly a fan of Cristiano Canali as well. He has a lot of range – also did Masque Milano Romanza (one of my favorite spring florals), Zoologist Bee (a delightfully skanky honey), and Zoologist Tiger (a wonderful dark smoky musk). If he has a signature quality I might say it’s balance. Sweetness or floralcy is always balanced with just the right amount of darkness or muskiness, and the results are addictive.

Clearly from the reviews this is a polarizing fragrance, but one that I personally enjoy a lot. The opening is admittedly harsh and has this hot plastic thing going on that I actually get from many Rubinis. In Tambour, I think this comes from all the contrasting notes being mashed together, but on my skin they separate in about 3 minutes and I get this citric woodiness with an indolic tuberose and a faint coffee note. This is one of the only tuberose accords I tolerate as generally that note is a no-go for me. I think this wears kind of airy and the sillage seems pleasant and not aggressive. At risk of sounding snobby, I think this is a coffee accord for people who drink single origin coffees or weird co-ferments and not your run-of-the-mill pre-ground stuff doused in milk and sugar. The presence of a coffee accord mixed with florals and citrus reminds me a lot of some of the weird and sometimes challenging coffees I've tried, which I like and therefore I don't find the accords in this fragrance that contradictory.

This is a truly powerful experience. The opening is very challenging. You get coffee that is black, bitter and burned. The sharpness is boosted by the pepper, and bergamot and green tuberose join to create an unique smell that takes some practice to enjoy. The tonka gives very slight sweetness in the background, but overall the perfume is dry with woody undertones. It is always nice to experience a coffee perfume where the coffee has not been ruined by excessive sweetness. The opening phase is quite short, and the drydown is less challenging and even quite comfortable consisting mostly of coffee and woods. Even though the coffee is strong, it is not the coffee bean explosion such as in Follow, but more like strong brewed black coffee. This perfume needs some time to appreciate, but it is mysterious and addictive.

Challenging fragrance, especially at the beginning where unsweetened coffee and a very indolic tuberose compete for attention. When you are through there, everything becomes calmer and more relaxed and a fantastic oriental journey begins. No oud and no amber, but a lot of spices, balms and resins with coffee and tuberose lying exhausted in the arms. This is finest fragrance art that lasts forever! But it take some guts to wear it.

It's not a bad thing, but sincerely i was expecting for a little bit something else and this is not just my impression. Maybe that sweetness of the coffee... but it's ok as it is! First tones are the worst from the whole creation, and after that, coffee comes to wash the pain. Notes are pure, but not strong and comes along with the cardamom accords. The base is the best, sadly i can't get no sandalwood, only a good quality tonka and some resins mixed with light tuberose. Lasts ok, but has a low projection and sillage for an extrait concentration. After all, a good fragrance but could be more better for the retail price level. To check before, not for a "blind date" :)