FRAGRANCE | Angels' Share EDP by Kilian: A surprisingly sweet treat (with a little booze)

The last quarter of 2020 saw the release of The Liquors collection by Kilian, a duo of alcohol-inspired fragrances that pay homage to owner Kilian Hennessy's cognac-making family heritage. The fragrances are Angels' Share and Roses on Ice. To my delight, they're priced a little lower than his standard offerings, bringing them a tad closer to my reach financially. And since I love a good boozy scent, I was instantly attracted to the idea. 

I went for Angels' Share first since it features cognac as a note and as such should be closer to Mr Hennessy's heart. The bottle's liquor glass design is stellar, which admittedly was one of the reasons why I wanted one. However, the actual bottle left me a little underwhelmed with its overreaching use of acrylic. Although of good quality, the cap is all plastic. I could be wrong but even the bottle feels like plastic. And that triangular label? Plastic. For a $195 fragrance (50ml), the bottle just feels cheap. Even the box is a letdown. Yes, it's made of hard cardboard but it doesn't hold a candle to many of its contemporaries in the world of luxury and niche fragrances.

The opening is expectedly boozy, infused with an intoxicating sweetness and a minty accent. Within a few minutes, I could clearly make out tonka and cinnamon making an entrance, providing some depth to the scent albeit at the expense of the cognac's prominence. After a few more minutes, a delectable praline accord comes in, followed shortly by vanilla. It's a delicious scent, every element freely swirling around without fully homogenizing. However, the development feels too rushed to be properly enjoyed. Curiously, I had the same experience with another Kilian creation, Straight to Heaven.

There's a woody undertone that's slowly felt after several more minutes while the fragrance's boozy sweet profile remains. On the other hand, that faint, minty facet relaxes momentarily but comes back later, not wanting to miss out on all the fun. Everything here seems to be going up and down in terms of prominence, as if each note or accord is represented by a pony in a rotating carousel.

After about 30 minutes, a rather odd, rubbery smell emerges. I can't quite place it but somehow it reminds me of that plasticky accord in Bentley for Men Intense or of that latex-like smell I get in Nasomatto's Nudiflorum (if my memory serves me right) but to a much lesser degree. Thankfully it does not dominate the scent, which still remains fundamentally sweet. I just wish the cognac was a bit stronger here, considering this is supposed to be a tribute to the Hennessy family. Either way, it's still delicious.

Angels' Share isn't a groundbreaking scent by any means but it's done well enough to appeal to gourmand lovers. The bottle design led me to believe this was going to be a predominantly boozy scent but I was surprised with its choco-caramel-like sweetness instead, the booze but an added flavor. And where I was expecting it to be masculine, it turned out to be very unisex, ideal for cold weather but wearable enough in temperate climates. It's quite strong in its first 2 to 3 hours before a gradual weakening is observed. The scent lasts for hours on end, so disappointing bottle aside, at least you're getting your money's worth here. All things said, it still merits a try in my opinion.