Celtic Fire

You've been for a long muddy walk through a peat bog in mild cool humid weather, got into a stone cottage, lit a blazing peat fire and are sipping some fine peat whisky beside it. Did I mention there was peat? And very lovely peat it is too - an absolutely uncompromising, unsweetened, un-incensed, smoky northern fire. Glowing and fragrant and a little bit mystical. It fulfils the brief 100%; somehow clears your head and makes you feel warm inside. Doesn't quite make it to the superlative levels of Bois d'Ascese or Perfumer H Charcoal, exactly because it's pretty linear and unadorned. It has no hardwood richness, like Bois, or melancholy wet-leaf and mist like Charcoal, but is easily smoky (and, um, peaty) enough to satisfy anyone who wants to smell of proper peat smoke and almost nothing else. The greener notes are never more than discreet and quite evanescent. So this ends up as true, relentless eau de campfire; I find that beautiful, but it won't be for everyone. Gender is irrelevant here but it would probably be stereotyped unisex-to-male; the bottle is ludicrously butch - a heavy-metal brick that could kill a man! - but I didn't find its performance as overwhelming as some report here. On me, pretty linear - it doesn't suddenly reveal some wonderful new facet - and it fades away to pretty much nothing on (female) skin in 5-6h - though it will hang on longer on fabrics. Which is a bit weak considering its extremely rugged image otherwise. So, if you live in a smoke-fuel-free zone but still want the smell of peat fires to hang around tantalisingly on your coat, or your scarf, or in your hair, reminding you of wild country weekends, this will do the job. In my view a little overpriced at full RRP, but distinctive enough from even its closest scent cousins to be worth having. Of course: you must REALLY love peat. There really is a whole lot - a groaning wheelbarrow-load - of peat.

I wore a thick wool sweater when hiking on Skye during a visit to Scotland, and I could never bring myself to have it cleaned afterward, because it smelled of lovely peat and I didn't want to forget that rich, earthy smell. This fragrance is peat scent in 3-D. The green notes are there. This is on my fellow now, but I'll probably try it myself at some point. I suspect I'll prefer it on him, as it seems a fairly masculine scent. Sillage seems moderate and decent endurance as to staying power. This is a distinctive fragrance unlike anything else I've smelled, so you'd be sure to be the only one wearing this to whatever party you attend. Nice.

Back from London and I finally own a bottle, yesss! It only seems to be available in one place in the world, Selfridges London. (Or -oops- not?? I just see they are supposed to be available in the US as well...) This scent is a must have for the lovers of smokey woodscents. This perfume develops beautifully, it does get better and better the longer you have it on. The bottle is a heavily chromed gem, I think it easily weighs half a kilo. The stopper seems to be made of solid metal. Classy brand, very exclusive and unique, love it! I'm keen to give the samples I got a try.

Very peaty...dark, rich, wood smoke from a peat fueled fire...not very green, the green notes are almost undetectable...definitely reminds one of the isles of Scotland...how great would this be with on blustery winter's day with a glass of whiskey and a bowl of cullen skink?...heaven...

Smelled today in Selfridges London, very very strong scent of burning woods and smoke. A bit too much for me. Don't get me wrong I do like it but it is very polarizing I am not sure if I would be able to wear it without offending anyone around me. The raw smoke and incense reminds me of Interlude by Amouage which IMO is better fragrance in terms of quality and aroma. They are not similar though just trying to explain the incense in Interlude is very raw and authentic and in the same way peet and burnt woods in here are very authentic. It reminds of bonfire in chilly nights. Unique fragrance

The idea of a perfume using materials all drawn from a particular geographic region, while perhaps appealing in the abstract, seemed even at first blush unlikely to yield a perfume that could stand up to today’s fierce competition, when I read on the card that accompanied my manufacturer’s sample of Union “Celtic Fire” that it had peat from “the fens of County Derry,” fir balsam and pine needles “from the wilds of Aberdeenshire,” birch tar “from Inverness,” etc. Carded sample in hand, I was intrigued, but suspicious. The opening was a somewhat-interesting, though challenging, medley of sweetish smoky peat, evergreen scents, and the other less familiar boreal ingredients. There was perhaps just barely enough sweetness to appeal, and the smoke (I like smoke.) subsumed the other, potentially discordant notes under its mantle. Within 30 minutes, however, the smoke and other top notes had dissipated to leave behind a monolithic, strident note reminiscent only of some foul household cleaning product; in fact, most “pine” cleaners smell much better than this phase of “Celtic Fire.” Surprisingly, however, after another two hours (or so) of sheer olfactory torture (endured only in the name of science), the full dry-down unexpectedly became a relatively unobtrusive scent of the bitter/brisk sort, identifiably “masculine,” although upon close inspection a “wee bit different.” Although by then I was sick of the whole thing. I would therefore say that the ideal user of “Celtic Fire” is the sort of person who likes to spend 20 minutes in the morning being challenged by an “interesting” perfume, then has a two-hour car-pool or commute with people he consciously or subconsciously would like to asphyxiate, then has a conventional office job where only an unobtrusive but always-identifiable-as-“masculine” scent can be used by a male. A possible try for people who really, really, like Caron “Yatagan.” Otherwise, “Celtic Fire” merely disproves, perhaps conclusively, the geographic-perfumery postulate. Only the opening offers a bit of redemption. Awful. My score: 1.5/10

100% campfire opening. This is by far the least accessible of the four Union perfumes I've tried so far. I mean... I like smoky scents as much as the next guy but wow... the opening 15-30 minutes of this one smells like you just sat next to a barnyard that burnt down for a couple of hours - it's just plain silly how strong the peat comes through. The strong peat gives resemblance of a harsh oud mixed with a very dry saffron somehow. If you're a fan of a good scottish single malt, say i.e. Laphroig, I imagine this could be great to wear while sipping in front of the fireplace. Work appropriate? I think not - more of an artistic approach to smoke. The heart notes add some fir and yeast-like elements and the drydown is a bearable smoky woods with birch tar and hints of leather. Very unique - and polarizing. BTW love the character gallery by Eeyore below.

i've just now learned of this perfume and have not smelled it. however, the notes listed bring me instantly the the scene in monty python's holy grail wherein the peat gatherers are being repressed and eric idle is shouting "just because some watery tart threw a sword at you doesn't that make you a king". i'm glad there's now a scent for that particular scene.