Smoky Graze

Smells like Kopiko candy when sprayed on paper, coffee beans and an almost-burnt piece of toast for the first few seconds then the middle notes to me reminds me of a warm cup of black coffee in my grandparents' old house in the early morning just as their pet rooster starts waking up the entire household. The coffee notes start to soften and I find it starts to smell more woodsy. The base notes remind me (but wouldn't say it's a dupe, just similar vibe) to Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille lol. Leaves you with a cinnamon-ish, amber-ish, vanilla scent that's a little Christmassy. Out of Toouch's current line up, this one to me is the most well performing in terms of longevity and projection. I bought a 5ml sample size pack of Toouch's current collection and have enjoyed this one a lot. If only I hadn't splurged on Lush's Cardamom Coffee, I'd buy the full size of this one soon. This one is more South East Asian coffee vibes whereas Cardamom Coffee is more Middle Eastern coffee vibes. I *could* potentially have both, but with both being distinct coffee fragrances I just feel like I only really need one you know? Hopefully the brand releases like 10 or 15ml travel sizes, as I would happily invest in one if this was the case.

The first spray hits like stepping out into a Saigon alley at sunrise, the air thick with roasted coffee and street smoke. It’s bold, unapologetically dark, almost like burning beans over a charcoal grill. I love how real it feels, but on hot days it’s a little too much; the scent clings heavy, like the city’s heat. Perfect for late nights or rainy afternoons, though when Saigon slows down and everything feels cinematic

The inspiration for Smoky Graze, according to Toouch, is a morning in a Saigon Cafe. As I'm typing this, the smoky, roasted coffee is starting to move into honey, almond, and rose. I've never been to Saigon, though I'd like to. I have been to Shanghai and various cities in Japan, which are not the same thing of course, but Smoky Graze still reminded me of mornings in beautifully ramshackle coffee shops, often taking a breath before a busy day. These dim refuges, from Showa era kissaten with their dark wood and stained glass to artsy cafes tucked in shikumen buildings in China, are enchanting in a way that's hard to find over here. Honey can be a difficult note to love, even/especially when done well. It's so strong and sticky. One of my favorites is by another Vietnamese perfumer, d.grayi, whose Honey Bunny is an assault of hay and a vegetal feeling until fading into a very agreeable honey. Strong honeys from way across the price spectrum - Tokyo Milk's Honey & The Moon to Guerlain's Tobacco Honey - just knock me on my face too much. The honey in Smoky Graze is on the border for me, but overall this is a complex coffee gourmand that anyone into coffee scents wouldn't regret trying - especially if you like your coffee a little closer to Poesie's Whisper Your Bitter Things or Kerosene's your-entire-body-was-brewed-along-with-the-beans Followed than something like D'annam's Vietnamese Coffee or Hilde Soliani's Buonissimo.

The opening blast is pure roasted coffee beans. Opening blast is actually an understatement; it's more like someone took a large burlap sack filled 75% of the way with hot beans and smacked you, connecting with your cranium like a juiced Barry Bonds connected with a soon-to-be home run baseball. After about 10 minutes, the coffee volumes turns down from 12 to 4, the void filling with amber, vanilla, dark chocolate shavings, and a hint of rose. I like this fragrance, but I wouldn't go out of my way to own it, especially since I live in a tropical climate (this is a cold weather fragrance). A solid 7/10.

Smoky Graze is very aptly named. It’s really, really smoky. It opens not as freshly roasted coffee, but as coffee bean that you’re actively roasting. Over a fire pit. After an hour or so the intense coffee starts to fade a little, and I get dark chocolate praline with a hint of vanilla. It’s still quite bitter – a very dark chocolate – but it’s softened by the vanilla. At that point, Smoky Graze is rather enjoyable, but the opening is just so overwhelming. It definitely makes a statement, but it’s not really to my tastes. If you’re into powerful, very smoky, bitter coffee notes, go nuts!

You open those big double doors, sniff the wafts of ground coffees and baked goods that sit adjacent to rows and rows of hard covers and trade paper backs stacked neatly on round tables and end caps. Never smelled anything that has encapsulated the scent of Barnes & Noble quite like this. It was my first ever job, first in the cafe then on the floor bouncing from department to department. So many memories tied to a time of little worry and disillusioned optimism.

At first, it seemed too much burnt coffee beans with dark chocolate (or cocoa) and hint of leather or suede, after couple hours it set in a very wearable liquor like amaretto coffee cocktail. Oh, and the honey note also disappeared quite quickly. It reminded me of Killian Black Phantom a bit. Overall, it’s nothing special, but in terms of price , it’s a great value especially if you want to bring it as a gift /souvenir from Vietnam