Havana
Aramis (1994)

This was a blind buy. It smells like an old man to me. It's not gross - it just smells like something more appropriate for a man in his 60s or 70s than his late 30s. I'll hide it in the bathroom and test it again in a few years when I find it and remember I own it.

When it finally dries down to tobacco and woods, it is soft and pleasant enough, but it takes about a day of "where are my bifocals" to get there.

Oh Havana, how I love to lavish in your godly sillage and savor each waft. The caraway and artemisia in the opening is bold, brash, and unapologetic, it is a burst of unrelenting sunshine and dirty herbs and I can't get enough.

The dry down of tobacco, cinnamon and carnation is a warm, sultry paradise on my chest, arms, and neck. I really should get back up bottles of this in case it is mercilessly discontinued. Because it just THAT good. God, what a nose orgasm Havana is.

This shares the same impeccable DNA as Aramis 900, Devin, JHL, Tuscany (even though they were composed by different noses)... They are all masterpieces, and I cannot be convinced otherwise.

The scare that Estée Lauder was shutting the Aramis works down in toto prompted me to score some classic Aramis and Devin. Havana by Aramis crossed my radar screen along the way, and as a Lauder devotee in general and an Aramis aficionado, I HAD to give Havana a try.

I love it!

Havana is complex and tells an interesting story as it passes from sweet, citrusy top notes through spicier heart notes and dries down into the masculine, exotic blend of tobacco, patchouli, various woods, and tonka bean. Every step of the journey is worthwhile and evokes the spirit of old Havana - awaking in a classic hotel, breakfast and robust coffee on the balcony or in the courtyard, a stroll through the streets and along the waterfront, drinks later in an airy bar, and finally a wonderful cigar at sunset. Hemingway would be proud.

Havana by Aramis is a winning formula.

Havana is a herbal spicy bay rum tobacco scent with a lot of spicy notes. After the cacophonous opening that singes the nostrils, Havana settles into a tobacco accord that's not far removed from vintage Dolce & Gabbana pour Homme that came out in the same year. Havana tones down the amber to go full throttle with its spiced tobacco accord which is dense, green, almost bitter with noticeable clove oil, pimento, and a hint of leather. The late dry down of Havana is softer and sexier, when the sharp edges become a bit blurred to reveal a warmth and smoothness with hints of tonka and resins.

Havana successfully reimagines the brisk, tonic-like profile of aftershaves in perfume form, much to the delight of wet shavers and others. Havana is bold, brash and uncompromising throughout much of its development, and surprisingly reveals a refined sensuality in the base. This is best enjoyed in warm weather with a lavish application –– laid back and immensely satisfying.


4/5

Havana is the first scent I loved so much that I purchased a back up. It's currently such a great deal as part of the 'Gentlemen's Collection' that I couldn't resist considering it's held in the $20 range from the major online discounters. Don't judge this masterpiece based on the opening, which is kind of a mess. There are a lot of notes listed but the middle bay rum that rides through till the base of tobacco and woodiness may be the most prominent notes. I was thinking that having a 'bay rum' fragrance in my collection would be a good idea and this totally covers that and more. In the long run this could sneak into my top 10. As long as the price holds(I don't think it will) it is a blind buy as I guarantee there are plenty of basenote-ers that will take it, me included. BTW, this is not one of those scents to wear once, freak out over the opening and post a trash review. Get to know this fragrance and fall in love. Viva Havana! Thumbs up!

Absolutely love this. Great, fresh opening, slight urine smell for the first 5 minutes or so (which I get from the original Aramis) but from that point on it's great and settles into a beautiful, sweet rolling tobacco scent in the drydown. Seriously good value.

I LOVE CUBA. I have been six times so far and cannot wait to go there again. HAVANA is its crown jewel. Being in CUBA is actual time travel or as close as one can actually experience. This perfume is not different is not for the faint of heart, it is not worn to impress others. It is worn for the experience of sitting in a normal cuban men's hair salon a place where time has stopped.

Now, why have a favourite if you don't at least have one that comes close. Here's mine. Aramis Havana, current version 2019. As I've remarked elsewhere, there's a cinnamon note in this one that just rubs me the wrong way, but aside from that, this is really wearable on clothing.
I repeat - on clothing.
On my skin, similarly to the current Habit Rouge, a strange thing happens - an impressively complicated and well-balanced scent, picture it as a statue if you will - melts into the ground only leaving half a crooked arm, a shoulder and part of the hair visible.

Edit: Reading this two years later, I'm quite surprised. I'm not a fan of the scent anymore. Something in it has come to irritate me (- I suspect it's some aldehydic components.)

I imagine this is what someone from Cuba smells like, sitting in a 1950's Chevrolet with the top down under a string of glass Christmas lights, smoke billowing from an open air meat market in the hot sun.

But it smells cheap to me, and from the many reviews I've read smells nothing like what I was expecting.

This one is definitely not for me, and the vintage decant is already down the road.

I absolutely love Havana its unique and sweet I get a little hint of tobacco but not much and the bay rum is from start to finish and its strong so a little goes a long way I tried the vintage and its still fantastic the packaging reminds me of a jungle full of leafy trees hopefully they will keep this in production for years and years if it gets discontinued I'm gonna be sad and order more from Ebay it's that good this is my 3rd bottle!

I have a relatively new bottle (2017-ish) so the formula can't be vintage, however, it is still an amazing scent. I think it is very a very barbershop-like fragrance with the addition of tobacco notes. The tobacco notes smell like they came from a really high-end fragrance. It's really cheap so it's for sure a safe blind-buy

Aramis Havana delivers something of a peculiar entry in the "vacation in a bottle" genre, but it's not a vacation to a resort, but to a faded, storied hotel, somewhere where you can escape the heat in a shadowy courtyard full of hanging plants and sip on a spiced rum and cola.

It's a must-own for those who crave dynamic wearing experiences, given that its character evolves and shifts along with where it is in its lifespan and with adjustments in the ambient temperature and humidity. Sometimes it's restrained and shadowy, a mossy fougere, and sometimes it's exuberantly spicy. Thus, it's something of a wear-anytime fragrance, depending on which side of Aramis Havana you come to enjoy the most.

While it's not precisely old-fashioned, it's also not particularly youthful; it's a fragrance for those who love "mature" or "classic" fougeres and chypres and will enjoy a particularly inventive, masterful spin on classic fragrance structures.