Nishane
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The salted caramel arrives with both peppers in tow, creating an immediate sweet-savoury-spicy triad that numbs and seduces in equal measure. The Sichuan pepper's distinctive tingle electrifies the burnt sugar, whilst black pepper adds cracked heat. It's bold to the point of challenging, a gourmand that refuses to play nice.
Patchouli emerges dark and earthy, its chocolate-like richness amplifying the caramel's depth whilst cinnamon weaves in with resinous warmth. The sweetness remains dominant but now it's grounded, less confectionery and more molten, almost smoky. The spices integrate rather than compete, creating a unified amber-like warmth that feels both opulent and slightly feral.
Haitian vetiver's smoky, rooty character anchors what remains of the sweetness, whilst oak wood adds a subtle tannic dryness. The caramel lingers as a ghost—a suggestion rather than a statement—wrapped in earthy woods that smell like damp forest floor after rain. What's left is warm, woody, and just barely sweet, like incense burning in a kitchen.
Tero reads like Carlos Benaïm's fever dream of an oriental gourmand—salted caramel meets Sichuan peppercorn in what should be a culinary disaster but instead becomes something genuinely compelling. The opening is a proper assault: crystalline fleur de sel cutting through burnt sugar whilst both peppers (the numbing Sichuan and sharp black) create an almost medicinal tingle that stops this from veering into sugared confection. It's sweet, yes—aggressively so—but the savoury-spicy framework prevents it from becoming cloying.
The genius lies in how Benaïm anchors all this edible excess to a proper woody-earthy base. Patchouli and cinnamon form the transitional bridge, the former's dark chocolate facets amplifying the caramel whilst cinnamon adds its own resinous warmth. But it's the Haitian vetiver and oak wood that ultimately save Tero from novelty status—they bring a smoky, slightly bitter grounding that feels more like burnt sugar on cast iron than patisserie counter.
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4.0/5 (555)