Rhinoceros Review

A boozy scent that’s as big and boisterous as its namesake, Rhinoceros announces its presence with an arrestingly terpy opening of elemi whose lemon-citrus notes dovetail with bergamot and a herbal accord of lavender/sage/armoise. Detectable even in the top is the elaborate blend of nearly a dozen different musks (c.15%) and this complexity is further expressed with one of the most convincing liquor notes I’ve come across. The official pyramid lists rum, but to me the richly textured accord - alcoholic, woody, leathery, smoky – reads closer to whisky, at least initially. As the perfume dries down, the dried-fruit facets of the oakwood extract do become clearer, as does a honeyed sweetness that links to deep, woody amber fond.

Colour me impressed!

Nose: Paul Kiler

House: Zoologist

Release date: 2015

Notes (per Fragrantica): rum, bergamot, lavender, elemi, sage, pine needles, artemesia, tobacco, oud, immortelle, geranium, cedar, vetiver, sandalwood, amber, leather, musks.