After testing most of the Dries Van Noten perfume range, I’ve come away relatively satisfied that I don’t need a full bottle of any of them. While some of the scents are solid, none have left me thinking, “Wow, I’d really like to starve this week and instead drop $500 on 100ml of perfume”. Notably, I’ve not tried three of their more popular fragrances, Camomille Satin, Soie Malaquais, and Rock the Myrrh. Before I administer the last rites to the brand, I plan to sample that trio. However, based on what I’ve sampled so far, their perfume range lacks the boldness of their fashion arm.
Havana Gold (2025), crafted by Jordi Fernández, is another to add to the Dries Van Noten also-ran pile. Still, it won’t hammer the final nail into the brand’s coffin. I’ll reserve judgment till I’ve tried them all. Speaking of hammers, Jordi Fernández is the go-to perfumer when brands want loud, brash fragrances that linger for days on skin. But, to his credit, in Havana Gold, he mercifully shows some restraint.
Havana Gold resembles a tobacco scent from the 2020s, evoking fragrances like Dior’s Tobacolor or Bois Talisman, with some nods to Royal Tobacco from Amouage. However, I think it smells better than both the Dior fragrances. It’s a sweet, somewhat earthy tobacco that eventually segues into a smooth, leathery, woody drydown. The sweetness comes from an ambery accord, and something vaguely fruity, almost like peach. However, I don’t see peach in the official notes. Perhaps the bottle colour makes me think of peach. Fernández offsets the sweetness with cinnamon and licorice. Overall, Havana Gold feels flat, uninspiring, and safe, but fortunately, it avoids any harsh woody-amber sharpness.
Cuba and Havana continue to inspire countless fragrances. Indeed, most of them focus on clichéd themes, such as cigars and rum. If you’re after a solid Cuban tobacco fragrance, it’s better to save your pennies and seek out Aramis Havana or Geo F Trumper Havana Cologne. Havana Gold smells clichéd, but it doesn’t conjure up images of sunlight streaming through ornate hotel windows, as vintage cars roll by in the palm tree-lined streets below. Instead, I come away thinking Dries Van Noten has jumped on the amber/tobacco bandwagon.
That said, due to its lack of woody sharpness, Havana Gold smells less harsh compared to its direct commercial competitors, Dior, Kilian, etc. It could have been a disastrous mess, and it’s far from that. Still, it’s bereft of colour and personality, and could have been so much better. I prefer my tobacco scents dry and gritty, with little to no sweetness. For something with more personality, try Cuir Cuba Intense from Nicolaï. My go-to dirty tobacco is Montecristo from Masque Milano, which, though not inspired by Cuba, effectively captures the country’s lively vibrancy. It features a blend of rum, tobacco, leathery notes, and animalic musks.
What do you think of the Dries Van Noten range? Have you sampled Havana Gold?
Note: Havana Gold bottle image from Dries Van Noten. All other images are my own. Havana Gold was tested in-store, and from a decant purchased by me.
Daniel, I absolutely love the title! It’s perfect. The only Dries Van Noten I own and have ever liked is Dries Van Noten par Frédéric Malle. I bought this at Barneys New York when I had the opportunity to met Frédéric Malle in person. He even personalized and signed box. Everything else I’ve tried has just fallen short for me. You know how much I appreciate a great tobacco perfume, and there are so many other amazing ones out there. From the sounds of it, this one isn’t worth wasting my time on.
Thanks very much, Flaconneur. That’s a brilliant story. There’s been rumours they’re going to bring it back for a couple of years now, but nothing has come of it. I wonder if it will happen. Yes, there’s a myriad of better tobacco scents than Havana Gold. I’m wearing Tabacco Toscano today, and it’s far superior.
Haven’t tried this one, but I bought the initial discovery set and liked most of them. Rock the Myrrh was probably my favorite, and I remember liking Soie Malaquais as well. The bottles are beautiful, but not too hard to resist for the prices!
Those two are on my radar. I particularly like the look of Rock the Myrrh. Yes, the price is a real turnoff. They’d have to be pretty special to get me to hand over that sort of cash.
Great review and pictures, curious to smell Havana Gold. Have a great weekend!
Thanks very much, Tetê. Let me know what you make of it. Hope you have a good weekend too.