JMW Turner, The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805

“England’s evening spark and citrus kisses-thunder on your lips. IN victory drink long, drink deep as glory fades to night.”- Beaufort London

The Battle of Trafalgar as seen from the mizzen starboard shrouds of the Victory  JMW Turner

Inspired by the historically famous Battle of Trafalgar where the heavily out numbered British Royal Navy defeated the joined forces of the French and Spanish Naval fleets  (also the year Sir Francis Beaufort created his wind force scale), 1805, released in 2015, is a woody eau de parfum for men and women that embodies a spirit of tenacity, is an ode to sheer determination, and an olfactory poem that confirms that art indeed imitates life.

Leo Crabtree is the drummer of The Prodigy and founder of Beaufort London Fragrances

1805 is one of three fragrances in the BeauFort London collection, which are the creation of musician and writer Leo Crabtree who has always had a profound love for fragrance and the darker side of British history. The fragrance truly embodies the, “Come hell or high water” spirit of the brave naval officers of the past who knew the minute they set sail their life was on the line and the probability of them returning home was slim to none, never the less the sea was a welcomed adventure and war was a familiar adversary.

The Hero of Trafalgar Print by William Heysham Overend 

From the minute I sampled this fragrance with a dab on the wrist I became seductively enchanted by sea sirens who carried my mind to the open ocean and walked heart along the deck of a British war ship where Officers and ship hands cleaned their guns and prepared for battle while simultaneously clanging their glasses of brandy together and passing around pipes filled with the finest tobacco.

‘Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805’ by Thomas Buttersworth.

The fragrance burst open wit the smell of fresh limes coupled with an ocean accord that allows the nose to experience the smell of open air and the salty aroma of crashing waves. Soon after the aromas of smoke and gun powder demand your attention and capture your senses while faint whiffs of blood and brandy make you think your experiencing the celebratory after math of a victory won at sea where even though several men are badly wounded none of them seem to care because they are here to live another day and the alcohol is doing an excellent job of numbing the pain. Through out the dry down amber warms the soul like a heavy blanket wrapped around you to protect you from the cold of the nightly winds and the cedar brings on the fresh smell of the wet mass of the ship from crashing waves. I thoroughly enjoyed this fragrance so much;  unfortunately I didn’t give my self the opportunity to fully experience it before I turned in my picks for Best Fragrances of 2015,  as it would have this definitely would have been added to that list.

Notes: lime, smoke, gunpowder, blood, brandy, seawater, amber, balsa fir, and cedar.

Detail JW Turner

Trafalgar By The Nosey Artist

The smell of fresh gun powder and burnt wood lingered under my nose as I wiped the dribble of blood from the corner of my mouth and continued to cut through the smoke while I made my way deeper into the dark mass of the ship. The year was 1805, the season was one of England’s coldest winters but the burning embers and smoldered ashes made the atmosphere resemble something like that of Dante’s inferno; add the billowing clouds of smoke from the ship’s sails that were set a blaze from cannon ball blasts and the agonizing screams of dying men and one would indeed think they took a trip to the underworld.

I had joined the Royal Navy in search of adventure and self worth, but years of bloodshed battle and months out on the open sea had turned me into a savage with only one thing in mind-victory. As I made my way towards the back of the ship my senses became more alert from a different aroma now lingering in the air. The smell of freshly lit pipe tobacco and the faintest hint of oak aged brandy hit my nose in a most peculiar way and before I could even begin to imagine why some pompous ass might be having a celebratory smoke there he appeared before me.

 Daniel Maclise’s painting of the fall of Lord Horatio Nelson

The captain of this sinking ship, and soon to be victim to the victor of this bloody battle, sat lackadaisically in his chair holding his pipe in one blood stained hand and struggling to take a drink of brandy from the other, which appeared to have a ghastly blade wound which exposed the inner fore arm right down to the bone; I knew Federico was a tough bastard but this took the cake. As I cautiously inched towards him I felt a calm come over me, so much so that I didn’t even think to draw my sword-the man was dying and the both of us knew it.

As he looked up to survey me he blew smoke out of the corner of his mouth and greeted me with a blood stained smile, “Never would I have thought that a naval fleet so vastly out numbered would possibly have a chance at survival in a battle against two of the world’s greatest adversaries-let alone actually claim a victory” he spurted out of his mouth with his heavy Spanish accent, “But you and your men have fought with great vigor, and I believe that our underestimation of your capabilities have not only cost us this battle, but thousands of French and Spanish lives”. I listened intently feeling proud of what my men and I have accomplished, but also pitying the quickly dying and now very drunk Spanish Admiral. “Come my worthy opponent, grant your adversary his dying request and have a drink with me before you take my life, I am unarmed and in no mood to fight any longer”. I was hesitant at first thinking this may be a booby trap, but victory was ours regardless and honestly I was quite tired my self.

The Death of Lord Nelson  by Samuel Drummond (c) National Maritime Museum; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation

So there I sat having a drink with the Admiral in his burning ship and as he told me about his family back home and his beautiful wife who was waiting on a husband to return to her arms who never would I began to view him differently. For the first time in my life I didn’t see an enemy through these blood stained eyes but a true adversary, an opponent to be respected, and a man whose only difference from my life was that mine would continue on for the days to come and his would end here in defeat. I smiled at him as he finished his tales of home and tipped my glass to him as we both took another sip and he breathed his final breath.

Disclaimer: I am fully aware that my prose is historically inaccurate (Admiral Federico actually escaped the battle on a separate ship and died several days later from fatal wounds) but this is where the fragrance took me and this is the story I decided to tell.

I receievd my samples from Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique; opinions my own

The Nosey Artist, Contributor

Art Direction MC

Compliments of Twisted Lily we have a draw for a sample pack of the entire BeauFort London collection  which includes 1805,  East India  Couer de Noir, for two  US readers. Please comment below with what you liked about the review of 1805 or your favorite line from The Nosey Artist’s prose. If there is a Beaufort London fragrance you want to try tell us that too. And as always you must be a registered Cafleurebon reader in order to be eligible. Draw closes January 7, 2015

 

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