Acqua di Cuba

AdC opens with a subtle, juicy citrus. At this stage it's classical Italian perfumery. Herbal, spiced and citric. Slowly, the tobacco sneaks it way into the mix. This tobacco is not the sweetened pipe tobacco, instead it's the raw cigar tobacco variety. It's a damp, spicy, aromatic and complex tobacco. As the scent progresses, the tobacco is enhanced with hints of honey and leather. But it never smells like honey+tobacco. Instead all the notes are used to let the tobacco progress, and show it's full aromatic bouquet. What a fantastic masterpiece. I refuse to classify this in terms of oriental or the likes. It defies description. AdC is just a great scent. It's as appropriate in a board meeting, as it is sitting by the beach whilst sipping cocktails. There is zero pretense. It's rustic and rugged, but in a incredibly charming way. It shares a slight resemblence to Odori's Tabacco. But Odori's Tabacco is damp and complex. AdC has a simpler agenda, and accomplishes it much better. If you like tobacco, but find the modern sweet tobaccos leaving you wanting, then this is for you. A fantastic scent. Longevity is fantastic - 15 hours +. Sillage is restrained. AdC never shouts. Instead it just remains present. Rating: 10/10

I got a bottle (from the last 5 available in London SMN store) last weekend. I did 3 sprays in the store and got 3 compliments from strangers on my commute home (!) On initial spray, I smell bright citrus, followed by photo realistic honey and dry tobacco leaves but very slightly. It remains mainly honey throughout which I don’t mind as I was looking for honey more than tobacco. The honey never crosses into gourmand, perhaps balanced well by the tobacco. Projection is arm’s length for the first 4 hours, then skin scent for the rest of the day; on clothes, this lasts more than 24 hours. Performance is way better than Guerlain’s Tobacco Honey, sillage is not as beast mode as Xerjoff Naxos but I can still detect the lovely scent walking especially in windy London. The scent is masculine if you are looking for the masculine notes, feminine if you are looking for feminine; 100% unisex, in my humble opinion. Feel free to message me if you would like a decanted sample (I have the 100ml bottle which I’d never finish using as I have too many ...... :D )

Raw nature, indeed. The almost shrill vibratory presence of apiaries across hot canola and rapeseed and wildflowers in bloom (funky). Definitely has a tang from the bottle that could come across urinal, vaginal, sharp-sweaty, or corpse-like. But the sillage is just witchy and intoxicating. This is not unctuous, mellow and delicious gourmand honey (see rather Mardi Gras, Slowdive, Bee, Velvet Teddy). There's something very serious and confident about this. Damn gorgeous but as challenging in its own way as, I'd say, as Kouros (something in common there, actually) or Hyrax or Aoud Cuir d'Arabie, et al. If you know Cuba by C&S, imagine that topnote that people struggle with but toss the mojito in someone else's face rather than your own; or think Bois Lumiere by Lebreton, sans the sour woodiness. The pure prickly essence of these honey accords is writ large in SMN AdC. I make the tobacco association by way of imagining leaves curing in a hot barn, bugs buzzing, the air pungent and sharp. It's damn gorgeous.

Working on a photoshoot in the actual original Florence "officina" some years ago allowed me the perfect opportunity for a little crafty shopping between barking orders at the talent and production assistants. This is the bad boy that came home with me. I've blabbed on about being a sucker for woody notes (tick "relevant") and green, fresh notes (tick "relevant"), but we've yet to get into the idea of "smoky". Yet here, this concept almost defied logic: it's the leather or even the honey notes that feels "smoked", while the tobacco, like a top quality unlit Cuban "puro" bides its time in a humidor with more than 70% humidity. Again struggling with the idea that any good scent should conform with gender stereotypes, but let's rephrase the discussion and say that not man could feel undermined by this one, even if he is rather cautious and conservative. I might not spritz it every day, but I'm very happy it's there.

It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a fragrance to this extent Let me put this way: It stars as a cologne full of citruses of all different variation’s Then a mix of dry tobacco which is mainly in the back of the scent together with the honey which is the true hidden gem here After a good while like a couple of hours almost 4 hours to be exact another perfect transition surfaces up which is the animalics and to my nose I was in heaven literally It’s what I needed in this time of the year I think it’s the only fragrance from this house that I personally will have reason is it’s the strongest one yet it keeps pumping all day long If you are an older gentleman it’s a must try Dont worry about the fragrance being sweet it’s not I love it and so might you

This has unbelievable longevity, and so I was stunned as I wore some on a long day of travel, and after 12 hours of planes and airports, I could STILL smell it on me as I reached my final destination. A very beautiful study in tobacco, from its sweet and honeyed opening to its much more serious and drier close. It stays so close to the tobacco leaf that it doesn't throw cheap shots at you (like making it too medicinal, or two ambery, or too leathery.) It's a wonderful study in the power of a thoroughly realized one-note idea that's extended to give it a really beautiful setting. A fascinating perfume experience.

I get a slightly sweet lemon covered in viscous white honey. Things eventuate with the top notes making space for a dusty pair; tobacco and leather. They're faint and unobnoxious but you'll notice that as Acqua di Cuba matures, dusty turns into skanky. If you're getting this decanted and thus oxidised, I suspect you may not experience the top notes in as dramatic of a way. In it's settled form, AdC brings citrus and prominent moist tobacco notes, backed by woods and lightly spiced vanilla. It's an unadulterated, pure moment of bliss. A true humidor scent - one that I can't help but continue to come back to.

This is a fantastic fragrance which develops smoothly over several hours, and which manages to integrate elements of tobacco, leather, musk at the late stages, plus some sort of sweet, honey or floral undertone into this stunning tour de force, like a symphony that unfolds kaleidoscopically, seamlessly from one movement to the next. Absolutely among the most mesmerizing fragrances I have come across. That said, it comes out of the bottle rather aggressively, so it's easy to see why people might be alarmed. All I can say is, hang in there, because this one is a real odyssey. Unforgettable. 10/10

This was the chosen one when i first visited Santa Maria Novella in Rome 3 years ago. I already had Gardenia and Iris, but this one was nothing like the others. I really love Tabacco Toscano on the daily, I was looking for a night version, a dirty tobacco that stays on for a long time. Cigar, honey, skin, dust... It will feel like a burning balm on your skin and on clothes forever. I bought another bottle last week in Paris, they told me this will be discontinued soon, a true shame... I never smelled something like that, for me it's a masterpiece.

I am obsessed, and desperate. I smelled this scent on Melrose in LA, but they did not carry anything to sell. Now it is sold out all of North America, and I still carry the tester with me in the hopes this scent can be mine. Please, if you are selling this, email me at [email protected] . The honey is so strong to me, at first it was all I could smell. I was in love immediately and I have never loved a scent so desperately. It is as if I visited a fine art museum and left to enjoy the beach afterwards.

Was told by the lady at the London branch that they're not making this perfume anymore :( so go check your Santa Maria Novella shops to see if they have any bottles left. Absolutely gorgeous. Smells similar to Tobacco Toscanno but with more depth and honey! Truly a perfume with a wonderfully combination of sweet tobacco and honey!

I'm in a smoking room somewhere in Trinidad at the end of the 1930s, sitting in my favourite aged leather armchair, a glass of Canchanchara near me. The woodwork has just been waxed, and the humidor is open but I won't light a cigar, for fear of killing this enchanted and perfect moment of suspension from reality. Sigh.

I LOVE when my husband wears this. Sexy, smooth. I want to get closer. Reminds me of our trips to Firenze. If you buy this, only get a small amount at a time, because the scent does change in the bottle as it ages.

I like this somewhere between Fumerie Turque & Chergui!

Before Naxos, it was Santa Maria Novella’s Acqua Di Cuba. One thing is certain: not many use aromatic herbs and citrus quite like the Italians. Apparently, it goes beyond cuisine. Oh, and they also know how to do Patchouli. But when it comes to Tobacco, there’s not much to brag about (although let’s not forget Villoresi’s excellent Atman Xaman). For tobacco, the North Americans set the bar. As you can already infer, in my opinion, there’s no tobacco to be found here. Maybe if I press my nose into the skin and force myself to “see” it I get some hints of a tobacco accord, but the truth is, after you get used to the smell of tobacco absolute and perfumes that make excellent use of it or play around with proper tobacco accords, perfumes like Acqua Di Cuba, Naxos, Chergui, Fumerie Turque, and other “fantasy tobacco” fragrances in that vein seem more like a dream about tobacco than an actual whiff. So, if you are looking for a proper tobacco perfume, you can safely skip this one. What Acqua Di Cuba does, however, is to beautifully blend one of the most animalic honey accords I have come across with a citrus-aromatic fouger-like structure. It is a rustic fougere drenched in honey. But don’t be fooled into thinking this is your typical sweet-gourmand honey accord either. This is a very urinous attempt at a honey accord that could rival the likes of Absolue Pour le Soir and overshadow Miel du Bois. I assume they used a high amount of Phenylacetic Acid, which greatly contributes to the animalic facets found in honey, and to a lesser extent, the molecules responsible for the more powdery, vanillic, and floral ones(Vanillin, Heliotropin). The honey note here is more on the dry side, acidic, and pissy. It is the main player, and for that reason, I consider Acqua Di Cuba to be a honey-based fragrance first and foremost. On top of the honey accord, you get a blast of citrus and aromatic herbs like clary sage, rosemary, and lavender. Beneath it, there is a soft base of musks, blonde woods, and suede leather. To me, this fragrance feels like a Fougere because of the strong herbaceous facets and the citrus notes that last forever, intermingling with the honey and the woods. In that regard, it is very similar to a very popular perfume from another Italian house, Xerjoff, called Naxos. And I can see how Santa Maria Novella paved the way with this composition for all the other “Honeyed Fougeres” in that vein, which came after. Compared to Naxos, this one smells more natural, higher quality, and devoid of the “commercial appeal,” annoying cashmeran, and excessive sweetness. And Naxos is the only Xerjoff perfume that I ever owned, enjoyed, and was able to wear for more than two hours without getting a migraine or a nosebleed. So for me, Acqua Di Cuba is a perfect replacement; a more rustic and masculine take on that DNA. And now that I ponder it, I think I love it as it is, without the conspicuous tobacco note. The mix of clean and fresh aromatic nuances with the dirty honey provides a beautiful contrast, while the soft leather and woods in the base offer enough anchorage. It is substantial but never cloying. Clean but also dirty and animalic. And forever addictive. Like all the other Santa Maria Novella perfumes that I tried or own, it is another great example of pairing a few but high-quality materials to create a timeless “scent profile” that offers in character what lacks in complexity. They showcase a few major accords, but do them justice. With this one, if you like the more animalic and pissy honey accords, it is worth trying. Or, if you like that Naxos DNA but want a “serious” version of it. IG:@memory.of.scents

Raw nature. Niche. Unisex. The smell of this scent is powerful and can get misunderstood for you not showering. It is a far cry from Mugler's Pure Havane, where they put on more vanilla. Here is vanilla obscured by spices and heavy floral honey. It resembles very much a raw tobacco leaf that you keep soaking up. The scent is heavy on the head, because it has a animalic, pungent and boozy element. I would not wear it for day in an office or any light occasion. For evening dates, lovers and for activities under the sheets, this will work very nice. I can not imagine a young person to wear it, but 30 and above definitely.

When I first tried Cuba, I was glad I had only purchased a small sample. It smelled like someone had sprayed me with some weird mixture of Red Hots and Fart Spray that people used to sell at my hometown festival. This was one fragrance that took me almost the whole sample to actually appreciate. The spiciness is fairly strong in the topnotes, almost too strong for me. But I found the middle and dry-down notes to be milder and more pleasant. Some have said it smells like cigars, however, I don't get this. I mostly just get a cinnamon-like spice. It has good sillage and longevity.

The drydown on this is fascinating and I can't figure out what I'm smelling. The notes above don't help. It's so familiar, but in that I've smelled this somewhere outside of fragrances. It's almost animalic, but not in a challenging way, just in a way where this smells like it's a scent that's radiating off of a living creature, not a scent that's been crafted in a lab. I don't understand it, but it's so compelling. Edit: I think the slightly "animalic" drydown is due to the honey note. Later edit: I have become obsessed with this one.

I purchased this perfume from a flagship shop in Sydney, Australia. What a neat brand and offerings! I was torn between Cuincuenta and Agua di Cuba, and though this one was another heavier, tobacco-y, sweet, musky, amber-y goodie like other fragrances I go for, I had to have it. I used it all up within 14 or 15 months, granted over travels where I didn't have a ton of perfumes on me. But this was the go-to scent after a shower to go through my day, everyday. Love it and would be happy to buy it again.

Some quick notes from memory - I'll probably flesh this out later. This starts with a big dose of honey and spices, very sweet, yet intriguing. As it dries, it mellows, remaining sweet but with very prominent spices and tobacco that take the edge off and make this more unisex, even a bit masculine. It is rich, bold, and attractive.

A gorgeous honeyed tobacco which brings to mind Kouros sans the pissy civet. It is still a bit pissy, but much more wearable than the classic Kouros and its newer version. There is also a rubber accord that is making me smell my arm repeatedly. Overall a very masculine, leathery, honeyed tobacco and worth owning.

More like an Italian stereotype kind of combination Citrusy, leathery, boozy, warm spicy Can't really find tobacco in it, but it can picture you someone who smokes Clearly a fragrance that was invented later than most of the Santa Maria Novella classics Unisex, for autumn and winter

Very citrus opening with the tobacco lurking in the background. Unfortunately, it then transforms into a nice tobacco scent that too quickly fades into a powdery(from the honey) old-school scent. Not a bad thing but not what I wanted.

Citrus start. Then pure honey. Very sweet. This honey lasts like forever. Cant hear anything else but honey. 4/10

Massive fragrance, but it's a bit unpleasant for me. Not sure if I should describe it as screechy, spicy, acidic... I may just be lame and can't appreciate true old-world perfumery? But I preferred tabacco toscano.

I hate this fragrance. I can appreciate its construction, but it makes me ill in the wearing. There is a brief moment that lasts about 10 minutes, just after the citrus high notes blow off, where the spice, tobacco, and honey blend just perfectly. Then the spices vanish on me, and it's just raw tobacco leaf with a touch of honey. And the tobacco accord hits me in the back of the throat just exactly the way that swallowing tobacco juice does - stinging, camphorous, slightly nauseating. The overall experience is like the moment you get when smoking a too-large cigar, where you're right on the edge between the nicotine rush and nausea, buzzing but not quite ready to boot; that borderline gag feeling in the back of the throat is what this does to me. And it lasts for hours, and hours, and hours...

I normally love both tobacco and honey, so I was certain this would be a winner. Unfortunately, Acqua di Cuba smells like straight up pee on my skin. I’ve always wondered what people meant when they said that about honey fragrances, and I finally understand. The tobacco note in the fragrance seems quite "moist" somehow, which further exacerbates the issue on my skin. Getting on public transport after spraying myself with this was... embarrassing. Both projection and longevity is amazing though, and it seems like no one else in the reviews get the strong scent of urine that I get, so probably worth checking out if the notes appeal to you. Definitely wouldn't recommend blind buying though.

Glory be, Acqua di Cuba is larger than life. From its pithy, golden-hued citrus fanfare to it's tobacco-infused honey and clary sage absolute heart, this is bright yet sensuous, utterly intoxicating, and a powerhouse for the books. A saturated fullness envelops the wearer but never is so heavy as to suffocate—Acqua di Cuba is more a seduction. Come here, lover boy.....hey lover boy.... While it is a more recent release from old world wonderland that is Santa Maria Novella, there is still that signature classicism that enchants me. I am almost motivated to take it to the next level and reach for some moustache wax, carry a pocket watch, and don a tweed suit with riding boots. That would be something, as I stare at my worn henley and lived-in Banana Republic slacks. I think my fragrances will eventually transform me into a dandy one day. Anyhow, Acqua di Cuba is dandy, beguiling even. The dry down has this cinnamic quality replacing the quenched qualities earlier in the development, with facets of aged, oxidized tobacco leaves in all their rawness fading into the scene, distant and wistful, like a faded memory you cling onto with all your heart, as you (and perhaps your lover) nuzzle into your skin. This, people, is what we really call a stunner.

Look if you’re coming here because someone said “this smells like photo realistic unlit cigars” be warned you’ll mostly get pissy honey with lemon and an overall aroma of a humidor that once had cigars in it. This fragrance has a classic vibe to it that smells like a barbershop. The tobacco is an afterthought for those searching for that “nose pressed to cigar” aroma. Definitely sample before buying because this has a very vintage drydown and will be difficult for alot of younger folks to pull off that aren’t quite comfortable with this style of perfumery. The animalics in this are of the urinous variety so if you’re really comfortable with urine notes you probably won’t smell it at all since you’re accustomed to it or maybe even enjoy it. If you despise urine notes be warned that for alot of people this will smell pissy. I’m one of them and I know I’m not alone. I’m only writing this so others SAMPLE before buying.

RED HOTS + TOBACCO The reviewer below nailed it: RED HOTS. (Those intense cinnamon candies made by the Chicago company Ferrara Pan Candy in the 1930s) That specific smell was throughout the stellar longevity - but yes, is did quiet down somewhat after an hour or so. But you gotta love the smell of Red Hots candy if you dare to blind buy this one. It's complex. Certainly has many notes that give this fragrance an appreciated richness. I didn't get 'cigar', but I definitely got tobacco. This is not for me - but certainly sample this if you want a layered hot spicy tobacco. ps. Tabacco Toscano should be sampled for a softer/sweeter Santa Maria Novella tobacco fragrance.

I’ve had a change of heart on this fragrance. Warm honey, tobacco leaf, citrus and pissy musks. Very nice stuff. Definitely leans mature but in a world of paper thin perfumery it’s refreshing to wear something complex and not filled to the brim with woody ambers, iso-e super, and whatever flavor of the month overdosed aroma chemical. I can pick up on the humidor association now. The tobacco isn’t front and center by any means and this is mainly a honey fragrance but my god it’s amazing.

A slightly spicy-honeyed tobacco. Rich, deep and masterfully crafted but at the same time very far from the typical heavyness of this kind of fragrances. The cigar note is pleasantly aromatic emphasizing the sweet/honeyed aspect, vanilla adds some extra sweetness without turning the scent into a cloying drydown. While I can't list Acqua di Cuba among my favourite from this house I can still recommend it to any sweet/tobacco lovers. Rating: 7/10

This is like nothing else to me. I bought it at SMN in Florence on their recommendation after wearing their Colonia for years. I guess it is the honey but I also get an almost aquatic note that I love. I can smell the red hots someone mentioned at the end if I concentrate but it’s not off putting-quite the opposite! I get compliments every time I wear this and it lasts forever. Very big.

The best part of this is its drydown. I get something a little smoky, although to me it isn't tobacco. I don't know exactly how to characterize it, but it is very comforting and soft. I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I do. It is definitely interesting, and I recommend getting your hands (nose?) on it. Edit: several days later, I figured what the dry-down reminds me of: honey!

Sweet tobacco, honey and sandalwood that just lasts forever. As with other SMN, hard to believe the concentration is eau de cologne. Great classic from another time that beats up two full shelfs of anything recent in a Sephora. These days the only ones with similar concentration are Tauer.

I just recieved a bottle of this and I wasn’t sure what to expect because it’s been compared to Xerjoff Naxos and I hate that one but the honey in this is so creamy almost powdery that it’s an instant love. Had no clue it was discontinued . So glad a friend sent this to me

اوه عطر جورماندي لذيذ تخيل رائحة العسل السويتية بجانت لمحات من البرقتال المر مضاف اليها رائحة التبغ المتواجد هنا بصورة جافة مع روائح مدخنه اخرى بفضل الجلود شي جميل العطر يستحق ان اتكلم عنه بالتفصيل لاحقا

To me, the vibe is similar to Musc Ravageur, and I'm not a fan of animalic musk notes. Maybe it is the honey as there is no musk note listed. Good fragrance, just not for me. Can't stand it.

smells like, ah, secretions magnifiques, shall we say -- the female kind. it's rather good, for all that.

lemon, tobacco, honey light hints of soapy musk, sweet sticky incense sticks strong like

Pleeeeease contact me if you are selling this/know where to buy, want it so badly😭😭