Bond-T
Sammarco (2012)

I came to this via Borneo 1834. That is a well-rounded mug of cocoa compared with this. Gimmegreen is exactly right that there's a medicinal level of patchouli here which makes it so forceful compared with the Lutens. I need to be feeling high energy to reach for Bond-T but the reward is great: a deep, dark, dry-yet-musty aura. I too wouldn't want more sillage than there is.

Bond-T sits firmly in the intersection of booze with medicine – suggesting, thus, to the wearer that this is an elixir that promises both altered states and healing. A pairing of dusty, bitter, deep as a moonless midnight cocoa and a dry, chewy, leathery patchouli, backed by oozy-boozy, almost pulpy, vanilla and tonka tones, it's the kind of thing that simultaneously signifies sensual pleasures and a deep seriousness – like the rich pipe tobacco that the overall combination of these elements evokes. Bond-T's palette is earthen, brown, autumnal even, but it has a life force that such things do not suggest, one that is slow, strong, uncoiling from some primal source.
Some have commented on its quiet sillage – I find it well-judged. Something this heavy needs no amping up, that would just make it uncomfortable for me. I run from room-filling patchoulis, whereas Bond-T is good, if somewhat solemn, company.

This is a great fragrance. It won't be liked by all because it is dry dark and moody, but if you stay with it great character is revealed very slowly. The opening is bittersweet chocolate, made alive with a touch of vanilla for chocolateness, but then is taken further to the dark side with patchouli which underscores the darkness in the chocolate. This opening part reminds me of the health food shop chocolate bar I buy for its 80%+ pure chocolate content that I gladly consume for its "antioxidant healing properties" - oh yes, that dark chocolate bar. But as the first hour wears on and the fragrance unfolds you realize that a secret underside of soft subtle well worn suede lays beneath the chocolatey opening. The first to appear is osmanthus with a peach toned fuzzy texture. Next, the osmanthus blends into castoreum and civet that adds more dry earthiness to somewhat change the entire composition away from a gourmand to become a soft, warm mossy leather. The chocolate is still there but it is now a matte coating over a sueded earthier base. It's a very nice finish to an interesting opening for Bond-T by Sammarco.

I wanted to mention these fragrant antecedents that predate with use of chocolate and patchouli with great success but also with significant differences to Bond-T. Borneo 1834 by Serge Lutens is a bold patchouli contrasted with an amber floral base while keeping chocolate subtle but noticeable. Coze 02 by Parfumerie Generale is a green leafy patchouli + sattiva herbal blend with coffee and chocolate being secondary to the earthy herbal incense. Most similar to Bond-T in scent is Chocolatl by Euphorium Brooklyn which couples dark bitter chocolate with a complex blend of leafy incense notes and other gourmand notes ending with a similar but more subtle castoreum leather base. Chocolatl maintains the chocolate character longer than Bond-T but is not as soft at the ending. I rate all four of these chocolate patchouli perfumes very highly and they are all at about the same level of quality, but with their individual differences. Borneo is the strongest patchouli, Coze is leafiest and most down to earth, Chocolatl is most chocolatey, while Bond-T is the softest and perhaps the easiest to wear base notes of this group.

I admit my love for chocolatey-sweet gourmands. Throw in a handful of sweet pipe tobacco- I'm in heaven. But ooh they are overdone, and can cause a need for a hefty dose of insulin.
While Bond-T could technically fall into category (as mentioned by Claire V here) with A*Men, it is SO very different in so many important ways.
Upon first whiff, while I was expecting it to scream "CHOCOLATE!" I was wrong. Its sweetness is in suggestion only, with a fresh cigar standing in for pipe tobacco, and a bitter, dry, astringent cacao rather than the milky stuff.
The civet is lost on me (which is just fine) but what I believe is castoreum, and the suggestion of labdanum, combine with a hint of patchouli to form a new sun-baked, dry, earthy whole. The effect is what can only be described as an old tobacco barn filled with aging leather saddles and cocoa shells, plopped in the middle of Arizona....only classier.

Men – step away from the A*Men and your L'Instant de Guerlain Pour Homme Eau Extreme, and pick up a bottle of this little beauty instead. This is sexy stuff. Bond-T by Sammarco is just the type of release you hope to see coming out of indie perfumers on their first outing – a smart re-thinking of common tropes, in this case the hyper-masculine patchouli-cocoa-tonka bean combo.

This one does everything right. It pairs a brown, dusty cocoa note with a dirty, castoreum-driven leather – and manages to come off as its own beast. Although it shares similarities of tone with Serge Lutens' wonderful Borneo 1834, there is none of Borneo's oriental richness. Rather, underneath the cocoa-patchouli skin of Bond-T there beats a heart of what smells like a wad of fruity, slightly fermented tobacco leaves and grimy leather. It smells rich and tannic, and just off-putting enough to stop it from being fully gourmand.

Further on, the scent dries out, and I start to wonder if it's tobacco I smell, or instead black China tea. It is astonishing – at this stage, the perfume really does smell as if I put my nose into a tin of the blackest tea leaves from China – those utterly matt black, loose-leaf ones. Tea leaves do have some of the bone-dry, tannic qualities I get from tobacco leaves – and a sort of leathery, smoked flavor.

Of course, there is no tobacco or tea or even leather listed as notes in Bond-T. All those notes have been conjured up by the leathery castoreum, and maybe even the osmanthus, which in China is commonly used as a flavoring for tea. Either way, I really like this dry, leathery tobacco smell, and find it similar to the effect that Tabac Aurea from Sonoma Scent Studio achieves – a full arc of notes ranging from wet and fruity/fermented to bone-dry, tannic, and almost dirty.

At the end, a nice surprise – the tonka and vanilla smooth out the earthy patch notes, leveling it off into an incredible “malted chocolate powder” sort of aroma. At this point, it smells more like Ovaltine than a full-on chocolate patch. Longevity is pretty great, too.

I don't hesitate to say that although a woman (including this woman) would have no trouble in wearing Bond-T should she wish, it is a very masculine take on the cocoa-patch quasi-gourmand theme. I like it on my own skin – but I can't help thinking that this would be very sexy on a man's skin.

It could be summed up a little lazily as a cross between Borneo 1834 and Tabac Aurea (with a teeny bit of Mona di Orio's Cuir thrown in for good measure), but I think I will just say that men who have been looking at stuff like Dior Privee's Feve Delicieuse, A*Men (original), A*Men Pure Havane, and LIDGE might want to consider this as a great alternative in the patchouli-tonka-cocoa field.

Sammarco's fragrances are great examples that you don't need much complexity to deliver something noteworthy. None of their offerings is particularly complex as they all revolve around very few accords and essential notes list. This doesn't mean they're simplistic…au contraire.

Bond T makes no exception and deliver a top quality earthy patch paired to a dark, unsweetened cocoa note. It has an overall headshop-vibe and yet, somehow, it avoids speaking of bongs. The pairing with the cocoa, despite not being very original, is handled with class and avoids the gourmand aspect of this combo by enhancing the general darkness of this fragrance. Subtle and yet remarkable animalic notes serve as an essential element of disturb while the fragrance shines in all its brooding earthiness.

Think about a unlimited budget, high-end version of Borneo 1834 minus the opening and with smooth leathery animalics thrown in the mix and you're there.

Very good.