Amber Fever

The Paris house dates itself to 2008 and is widely reported as Pierre Montale's second venture, begun after years spent introducing European noses to oud; it has since become a family concern - his daughter Amelie joined several years in, bringing the artistic direction the brand credits her with today. Amber Fever, from 2019, sits in the gourmand corner of that catalogue, and it is one of the more grown-up things Mancera has made in that register.

The pitch is whisky and caramel, and Mancera says as much: a smooth whisky note, melting caramel and a woody-ambery base. In practice the opening is boozy in a warm, aged way rather than a sharp alcoholic one, with hazelnut and tonka bean giving it a praline weight almost immediately. Underneath the sweetness there is a floral layer that most people miss on a first wearing - rose petals, violet and Indian jasmine, which is what keeps the caramel from going flat and one-dimensional. The base is where it earns its name: amber, teak wood, oakmoss and white musk, dry and a little mossy, pulling the whole thing back from dessert territory.

It is unisex in the way most Mancera gourmands are, though the nutty-boozy character reads slightly masculine to most noses. This is autumn and winter perfume. A cold Highveld night, a restaurant, a bar with dark wood in it. In summer heat the caramel can turn cloying quickly, so it is worth being sparing. It is also a poor choice for an open-plan office, for reasons that become obvious about twenty minutes in.

Mancera fragrances are known for output and this one holds the line. Expect eight hours or more, with strong projection for the first two to three hours - the kind of trail that fills a room if you overspray. Two sprays is genuinely enough. It is also worth noting that Mancera's own site does not credit a perfumer for Amber Fever, so treat any specific attribution you read elsewhere with caution.