Jorum Studio Rose Highland, Gorseland, Firewater, Healing Berry Scottish Odyssey collage by Michelyn© Jorum Studio
Scotland small? Our multiform, our infinite Scotland small? Only as a patch of hillside may be a cliché corner
To a fool who cries ‘Nothing but heather!’…Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid, 1974
Euan McCall of Jorum Studio © Euan
Edinburgh-based artisanal perfumer Euan McCall of Jorum Studio has recently released an aromatic highland quartet, aptly named Jorum Studio Scottish Odyssey. I’ve been desperately attempting to avoid gratuitous gushing – but frankly, I’m finding these four extraits thrilling on so many levels. Level One: anything Odyssey has my soul stamped upon it; Level Two – the evocation of Scotland’s natural beauty as exemplified by four distinctly different terrains is pure catnip; Level Three – each parfum is uniquely lovely unto itself, complete and fully-fleshed. Considered as a group or individually, nothing else on the market smells quite like them – and they smell marvelous. Whomever you may be, there is one which will delight you, guaranteed.
Image of the Scottish Highlands via unsplash
How to do them justice? Uncovering a literary voice which wasn’t banal was the challenge. Quoting Bobbie Burns is too facile – akin to shooting fish in a barrel; referencing14th C. epic poet John Barbour, too obscure. 20th Century Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid strikes a balance which resonates and deviates from stereotype. In July, 1948’s My Heart Always Goes Back to the North, he augurs current day perfumery and lovingly addresses our fifth sense: “But some day this most delicate of perceptions will be laid bare too…there will be chairs of osmology in our universities, ardent investigators searching out, recording, measuring, preserving in card indexes the departing smells of the countryside. Hayfields will be explained in terms of Coumarin, beanfields in Ionone, hedge-roses in Phenyl-Ethyl-Propionate, hawthorn as Di-Methyl-Hydroquinone (But will they ever capture the scent of violets among the smoke of the shoeing forge, or explain the clean smell of a road wet with summer rain?)”.
I may be mistaken, but I suspect that perfumer Euan McCall might feel similarly. He aspires to capture the specificity of olfactory landscape in every fragrance he’s composed to date. Jorum Studio Scottish Odyssey feels intimate; each extrait was inspired by a particular landscape.
Rose Highland © Jorum Studio
Jorum Studio Rose Highland: From a mountain suited to the intrepid climber, Euan gives us a Highland Rose: flinty, thorny and saline in character, it is possessed of a singular spicy, fruity/herbal beauty. Delicate touches of clove evoke rhododendron; sweet basil is indescribably companionable with heather, rose, geranium and jasmine. Gentle, too is the employment of oak and vetiver – which could easily overtake this rose-centric composition. Rose Highland is proof positive that there is always room for one more rose in our perfumed pantheon – provided that it is of exceptional quality, as this one is. Rose Highland Notes: Place reference: Buachaille Etive Mor, Glencoe. Azalea, Sweet Basil, Pink pepper, Bell Heather, Clove Bud, Primrose, Rhododendron, Jasmine Absolute, Geranium oil, Rose Absolute, Atlantic Oak, Flag Iris, Vetiver, Ambergris, Mineral Accord
Gorseland bottle image© Jorum Studio
Jorum Studio Gorseland: By the very nature of the phrase, we are referring to a wild, scrubby domain where only the hardiest vegetation flourishes. I always associate gorse with the ‘prickle-eye bush’ of folklore: “Oh! The prickle-eye bush that pricks my heart for sore! And if ever I get out of this prickle-eye bush, I never will get in it anymore!” Pineapple weed is a relative of chamomile which charms; it feels intuitive to marry sweet woodruff, elderflower, lavender and other aromatic materials to it. A glance of neroli, a soupçon of mellow marijuana (kush), grassy/floral gooseberry, enriched with that Balkan relative of the geranium, zdravets: herbal/woody with comely floral tones. Gorseland surprises us at the outset before settling into a soothing mellow elixir. Jorum Studio Gorseland Notes: Place reference: Salisbury Crags, Edinburgh. Pineapple weed, Neroli oil, Chamomile, Gorseflower, Crab Apple, Lemon oil, Astilbe & Lavender Absolute, Gooseberry, Milk-vetch, Elderflower, Catchfly, Woodruff, Gorsewood, Zdravetz, Kush Accord
Jorum Studio Firewater © Jorum Studio
Jorum Studio Firewater: Off the Isle of Jura in the Inner Hebrides we are at the mercy of a natural phenomenon near Islay: home to world-renowned rich, peaty whisky beloved all over the globe. I do love a wee dram of smoldering aged single malt, and Euan McCall’s rendition is a hearty, venerable one: sat in oaken casks for years, tingling with spicy and leathery notes (black tea, juniper berry, ginger, osmanthus, birch, guaiacwood and labdanum) and bracken. I don’t know how he achieved it, but I smell the salt ocean which surrounds these isles as surely as if he sequestered it within my tumbler. Jorum Studio Firewater Notes: Place reference: Corryvreckan Whirlpool, Isle of Jura. Black Tea, Juniper Berry, Nettle, Grapefruit, Beardtongue, Osmanthus Absolute, Ginger, Bracken & Larch, Birchwood, Sugar Kelp, Guaiacwood, Vetiver, Oakwood, Benzoin, Labdanum Absolute, Peat Accord
Healing Berry © Jorum Studio
Jorum Studio Healing Berry: I find that it’s rather tricky to achieve natural-smelling berry accords in perfumery: so many result in a plasticky mess which might provide an amuse-nez in certain circumstances, but it’s not something I personally wish to wear. Jorum Studio Scottish Odyssey Healing Berry is the exception, and it is as lyrical as it feels legendary. Wisps of anise-toned artemisia consort with tangy sweet/sour blackcurrant, a breath of minted rose, the jammy earthiness of raspberry leaf; I’m unable to identify the other berries inferred but they are seamless. Grassy, candied violet leaf and orris butter share a common conviviality; the cereal accord resonates with comforting familiarity. Healing Berry is a sophisticated Celtic fairytale perfume. Jorum Studio Healing Berry Notes: Place reference: Valley of Strathmore. Artemisia, Blackcurrant Absolute, Tayberry, Willowherb, Sloes, Wild Mint, Rose Absolute, Logan Berry, Buckler Fern, Violet Leaf Absolute, Raspberry leaf, Orris Butter, Himalayan Balsam & Cereal Accord
Flacons generously provided by the perfumer – I cherish them. Many thanks! My nose is my own…
~Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor
Editor’s Note: Euan McCall was Michelyn’s CaFleureBon Rising Star of 2019
Deputy Editor’s Note: Firewater was experienced concomitantly with the taking of an Islay single malt for purposes of comparison. The perfume is smokier! My husband pulled incredibly musky notes – whereas my skin bloomed spicy, leathery fruit and flowers: one perfume, two perceptions.
Thanks to the generosity of Jorum Studio, we have a 30ml bottle of either Jorum Studio Rose Highland, Gorseland, Firewater or Healing Berry extrait from the Scottish Odyssey collection for one registered reader in the US and one reader in the UK for a total of two readers (you must register on our site or your comment will not count). To be eligible please let us know which you choose, what you thought of Ida’s reviews and where you live. Draw 5/20/2022
In the USA, Indigo Perfumery has Scottish Odyssey in stock here.
Luckyscent.com has a great selection of Jorum Studio Perfumes here
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