Penhaligon's
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The juniper hits immediately with that piney, resinous bite, tempered by angelica's green-stem bitterness and a surprisingly warm orange brandy sweetness. Cinnamon adds just enough warmth to keep this from feeling cold, creating something between cocktail bar and herbalist's shop.
As the initial botanical sharpness settles, iris emerges with its powdery, almost carrot-like earthiness, whilst leather adds a supple, skin-like quality that transforms the composition from drink to something you'd wear. Black pepper and cardamom create little sparks of heat throughout, preventing the iris from going too soft or pretty.
The base reveals its hand slowly—black cherry reading more as bitter almond than fruit, mingling with brown sugar's molasses-dark sweetness and vetiver's smoky greenness. Ambrox adds a subtle woody warmth that wraps around everything, leaving a trail that's sweet but never cloying, fresh but decidedly grown-up.
Juniper Sling is Penhaligon's olfactory homage to the gin cocktail, but this is no simple aromatic lift from a Portobello Road distillery. Olivier Cresp has crafted something far more sophisticated—a fragrance that captures the botanical sharpness of juniper whilst steering it into unexpectedly sensual territory. The opening is a proper smack of juniper berry and angelica, that herbal-green bitterness cut through with the warmth of orange brandy accord and a dusting of cinnamon that feels more apothecary than patisserie. This isn't the candied sweetness of mulled wine; it's the resinous snap of fresh spices against spirit.
What makes Juniper Sling compelling is how the iris and leather in the heart create this oddly refined contradiction—imagine gin botanicals spilled on expensive suede. The black pepper and cardamom add crackling heat, whilst the iris brings its rooty, almost carroty quality that grounds the composition in earth rather than allowing it to float away on pure freshness. Then that black cherry emerges in the base, not as a fruity gourmand note but as something darker, almost medicinal, mingling with brown sugar and vetiver to create a sweetness that feels earned rather than gratuitous.
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3.5/5 (74)