Sir Irisch Moos
Sir (1969)

Irisch Moos is okay; I'm not gaga about it and I believe it's a overpriced. It has an unexpected funky, old smelling note that's a little less than appealing and makes it more like a drugstore cologne. I love green fragrances and fougères, and there are less expensive, easier to find ones out there. Recommend trying before buying or starting off with a partial bottle at a lower price. It does make a nice novelty scent to wear on St. Patrick's Day! 🍀

The scent of Irisch Moos is what inspired Irish Spring soap, or so the story goes. This 90s version opens harsh, fresh, very herbal, oakmossy, musky, and pretty much stays that way for the duration. The shaving cream vibe is powerful. Save for some soapiness later on, it's mostly linear, but we shouldn't expect too much complexity from a drugstore after shave designed in the 1960s. I hear the current version tones down the moss and amps up the shaving cream even more, which, depending on your tastes, might be a good trade off.

It projects very well for the first hour and longevity is 5 hours, good even by EDC standards. I hear the EDT concentration is beast mode - when the juice runs out of this bottle I might replace it with that.

Masculinity Level: We're at an Arnold-in-Predator level of ruggedness.

Sir Irisch Moos by Sir (1969) is an odd thing that will likely have more familiarity to those living in or around Germany than anywhere else in the world. Created originally by the German shaving supplier Sir (which takes its name from the middle letters of "rasieren" meaning "shaving"), Sir Irisch Moos is the only remaining product from the brand, and might as well be the brand itself now, as that's how owners Mäurer & Wirtz market it. Primarily an aftershave, Sir Irisch Moos is a classic green aromatic fougère, an early example of the darker, bolder type first seen upon the arrival of the seminal British Sterling by Speidel-Textron (1965). Like how British Sterling was claimed to have real UK heritage yet was never initially sold to them, Sir Irisch Moos was not made in Ireland nor sold to the Irish initially, instead banking on a cultural stereotype. What's funny about this is the smell of Sir Irish Moos is basically a missing link between the darker British Sterling and the soaper Paco Rabanne pour Homme (1973) that would come later, almost as if it was an answer to the former and source of inspiration to the latter. Ignoring all this, Sir Irisch Moos is a very bold, masculine, satisfying wet shavers delight that can be worn just as fragrance alone, much like Mennen Skin Bracer (1931) or William's Aqua Velva Ice Blue (1935).

The opening of Sir Irisch Moos is as those familiar with this scent profile might guess: fresh and soapy. Bergamot, lemon, coriander, rosemary, and a soapy aromatic clean dimetol note that would later be paired with dihydromyrcenol in Paco Rabanne pour Homme, but here just stands with the usual white floral woody characteristics into the heart of lavender, geranium, muguet, and galbanum. The fougère heart is supported by patchouli, cedar, clove, oakmoss, and tonka in the base, and is expectantly dry. As a midway point between the even darker and leatherier British Sterling, and the aforementioned Paco Rabanne, I can't help but catch fleeting glimpses of the later Pascal Morabito Or Black (1982) when smelling SIr Irisch Moos, especially as the clove and oakmoss converge. Also make no mistake about potency, as even in aftershave format, this is one knock-you-down fragrance that an overzealous splashing hand can cause you to seek oxygen as you choke in a cloud of big, mean, green, clean. Wear time is about 6 hours, which is really good for an aftershave, and if you find the rare bottle of cologne (or later eau de toilette spray), expect a bit longer. Best use is after a shave with something like Proraso green shave soap, pretty much any time of year hot or cold. Layered in other Sir Irisch Moos products like bar soap, deodorant, and so forth, you can get quite a potent scent bubble going, just like vintage Avon men's products.

The following year (1970) Germany would see the creation of Irish Spring bar soap, featuring a smell eerily similar to Sir Irisch Moos known internally at Colegate-Palmolive as "Ulster Scent", while the same soap would launch in the US by 1972. Several other perfume houses like Worth or Roger & Gallet would meanwhile compete with Paco Rabanne pour Homme with similar fougères, while 20 years down the road, Fragrances of Ireland would make a tourist-friendly men's fragrance also loosely based on the Sir Irisch Moos DNA called Patrick by Fragrances of Ireland (1999), although most of this stuff is sold only abroad or in tourist trap gift shops. This means after two decades of German chemists declaring Sir Irisch Moos is how Irish men smell, nobody inside the country wears this aftershave, nor has even heard of Irish Spring Soap, and is barely aware of the Patrick cologne; yet some Irish guys are at least somewhat familiar with Paco Rabanne pour Homme, without any notions of fragrances like this being associated with Ireland by guys abroad, which I find particularly hilarious. Being as this stuff was always meant to be sold cheaply at a drugstore, I'm not sure if digging up deep vintage will make much difference beyond oakmoss quotient, especially if you live outside Germany and need to shop online for it. Thumbs up

Mr Jean ,
I bought some Irisch Moos in Dokkum (NL) about two years ago ; in a chemist/ drug store but have not seen it elsewhere.It had the smell bottle illustrated.
I began using it back in Germany in the late 70s and 80s and loved the wonderful fruity, summery smell.It was far superior to anything else I had used.
At that time they had a long ,green, glass bottle with silver cap and with a covering similar to clear rubber.It gave the whole thing a much more tactile feel than the current clear bottle.
I hope you find it again.,
I will certainly keep looking for it and if in Germany I will seek some out !!
Pity they changed the bottle.The new one gives no idea of how special it really is.

This green fragrance is what you call 'a good bang for the buck' as it's very cheap if you buy it at the right places (mainly in German drugstores)!
It's called a cedar chypre which is green, spicy, fresh, mossy and elegant at the same time!
I own the edt and aftershave and both are strong thought the edt is at least 3x stronger even than the aftershave. Perfect for layering of course. It's a perfect outdoors frag for spring or fall days and is has huge projection the first hour after application. The notes of pine and coriander really stand out and make this frag really green and spicy. After that it gets more closer to the skin and the more elegant side comes out as the scent turns into something more smooth. It is still very noticable though as it has a solid base of oakmoss. It lasts therefor at least a good 6 hours and sillage is average afer the strong opening. Recommended stuff if you like your chypre strong, green and masculine! Thumbs up! Rated: 8/10

I used it a long time ago here in the Netherlands, when I just started to shave myself.

As far as I know, you can't get it here anymore; it's not available here. I heard once from a man, it's still available in Germany.

Who knows more about it?

It's a nice strong smell with that typical moss scent.

In Dutch the word moss is also mos.