Los Ventas Bull Ring Seats (sol y sombra) and Senyokô Hora de la Verdad  

“The Spanish say, “El sol es el mejor torero. The sun is the best bullfighter, and without the sun the best bullfighter is not there. He is like a man without a shadow.” ~ Ernest Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon

Plaza de Toros de las Ventas  (courtesy of Senyokô)

Whenever there is a bullfight, the third act – the moment of truth –  (la hora de la verdad) reveals the inevitable: kill or be killed. Which is it to be? If only one’s emotions were so easily untethered as this adage; the reality of the relationship between worthy adversaries is far more complex – and so is the latest fragrance created by Scottish perfumer Euan McCall for Senyokô, Hora de la Verdad (Moment of Truth). Are we speaking of lovers or bitter rivals? Combating equals? Aren’t they the two sides of a coin, like Janus? Who speaks of the ambivalent bond between matador and bull?

Collage courtesy of Indigo Perfumery©

In estival Madrid and Seville, the bullfight begins around 7 pm: it is still hot and sunny, and those who can afford the best seats pay for the luxury of being seated in the shade. Searing heat radiates from the ring itself, the odor of scorching sand and the noble beast’s heat-absorbing skin glistening with sweat fill the stands, bodies packed tightly as sardines in order to view the spectacle from above. It is this burnished, animalic waft reflected in solar rays of saffron, gilded with native citrus in the breezeless atmosphere. The women toss roses into the bull ring with the approach of the matador, the picadores on horseback, the banderilleros with their barbed lances. All the senses are heightened in anticipation, part eager, part anxious. It should be noted that matador derives from the verb matar: to kill. A torero may be a bullfighter, yes – but a matador’s aim is to kill the bull, beyond a doubt. He makes his theatrical entrance into the ring garbed in the bedazzling, light-reflecting traje de luces – a ‘suit of lights’ – embroidered with gold and/or silver thread and spangles which glitter in the late afternoon sun.

“Yet each man kills the thing he loves,
By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!” ~ The Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde, 1897

 

Bull Taxidermy at the Las Ventas Bull ring 

The flavor, the odor of Iberian melancholy is a very particular one, to my mind – filled with deep-seated sorrow, passion, blood and tears and somewhat metallic in nature (I say this because I have long intended to write some sort of essay regarding the various tonal hues/ tastes/smells/ characteristics of various national melancholy, how they are reflected in literature and how they differ – perhaps for as long as 40 years). I believe that the bond between matador and bull is one fraught with love as well as melancholy. The immense respect, perhaps reverence for an age-old ritual that dates back to Paleolithic paintings (15,000-10,000 years BCE) unearthed in French and Spanish caves, Theseus and the Minotaur, and the 4,000-year-old Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh: “And Gilgamesh, like a huntsman, thrusts his sword between nape and horns”. The latter has not changed to this day; where Gilgamesh placed his sword is the exact spot which matadors continue to seek according to tradition.

 

(courtesy of Senyokô)

In Senyokô Hora de la Verdad, the love between man and beast presents in the visage of brilliant, rich Turkish rose and geranium, heady enough to fill a stadium. It is accompanied by the spice of piquant, fruit-inflected Timut pepper and pink pepper, evoking an effervescent lift. Seville orange and bergamot sing the praises of a torrid climate; coriander is native to Spain, and emits an herbaceously bright, woody spice note, companionable to both citruses (and often employed in craft liquors for that very reason). A distinct metallic nuance colors Hora de la Verdad’s palette: it may be saffron/safraleine, a rose oxide, an aldehyde, a musk similar to Habanolide – or any combination of them – but the odor of blood is part of Hora de la Verdad’s fascination. Leather and labdanum invoke the breathing veracity of the bull, especially when alloyed with a cocktail of ambergris and musks. Vetiver inhabits the verdancy of flowers as well as underpinning the perfume’s exquisite living base – vital, a promise of continuity and hope, that subtle smoky verdancy which is as insidious as it is welcome.

I am going to place Senyokô Hora de la Verdad on my best of 2022 list – and we’re only halfway through the year. I’m that certain of its rightful place; it’s an extraordinary perfume that defies categorization, and an absolute joy to wear

Notes: bergamot, Seville orange, coriander seed, Timut pepper, pink pepper, Spanish saffron, Turkish rose absolute, geranium absolute, vetiver, leather, ambergris, musk, Spanish labdanum

Sample provided by Indigo Perfumery – many thanks, Ann! I adore it. My nose is my own…

~ Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor

Senyokô Hora de la Verdad (courtesy of Senyokô)

Thanks to the generosity of Senyokô we have a 50ml bottle of Senyokô Hora de la Verdad for one registered reader in the US and EU (you must register on our site or your comment will not count). To be eligible please let us know what you thought of Ida’s review and where you live. Draw closes 7/22/2022

In the USA, Indigo Perfumery has Senyokô Hora de la Verdad in stock here

Special thanks to Ann  Bouterse of Indigo Perfumery and Miaojian Zheng for their help with the images

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