Cardamom Rose Sugar
Solstice Scents (2012)

Company description: Brown Sugar, Cardamom EO, Moroccan Rose and Bulgarian Rose

Cardamom Rose Sugar is a coffee gourmand crossed with an Indian dessert that, oddly, is advertized as neither. It opens with a mouthwateringly tart Bulgarian rose, which later fleshes out into a jammier Turkish rose, with both syrupy and fresh-lemony nuances. These gutsy rose accords are draped over a wooden frame of brown sugar, maple syrup, and caramelized tarte tatin notes. I suspect the use of immortelle because, apart from the brown sugar and maple accords, the resinous coffee facet is characteristic of this material. The cardamom note is excellent – green and zesty, but also rich and exotic. Combined with the coffee and maple sugar notes, an image of Arabs drinking coffee with cardamom comes to mind, a sugar cube poised delicately between their teeth to sweeten every sip. Cardamom Rose Sugar smells very natural and rich, and it lasts forever on the skin. Towards the end, it flattens out slightly into a simple cardamom sugar note that, while pleasant, fails to equal the complexity of its first hour or two. Still, I recommend it highly to fans of Indian desserts such as gulab jamun, kulfi, and so on.