Bogner Man II
Bogner (1988)

Bogner Man II debuted the same year as Davidoff’s Cool Water. It even behaves the same and smells about 95% there. Both of these cologne’s scent pyramids share a lot of the same notes. That being said, I’m not sure who got the upper hand and copied who first, but obviously Cool Water was the winner in that department and got to the market first. I prefer the Bogner, it’s better made and far more palatable, unlike Cool Water that turns my stomach inside out. Thumbs down for virtually being an olfactory carbon copy of Cool Water. Thumbs up for doing Cool Water way better but I loathe Cool Water.

Bogner I takes off the smoking jacket and heads into the wild. This a much more bitter composition in comparison to its predecessor, so woody and animal-inky it immediately reminds me of the old men's line from Jil Sander - Bitter greens, board room florals, and Swamp Thing decayed woods all laid out to dry on a spritely bed of galbanum. The opposite of unisex, and a great pick for those wishing to smell like a bayou millionaire. Striking.

I cannot recommend this enough if you are a lover a well blended fragrance. It shares a lot of qualities with an aromatic fougere, as it has lovely green notes mixed in with gorgeous florals. The aldehyde is very very slight, just enough to make this scent pop, and the base is flawless. Just an outstanding scent. Good luck finding it. This and Deep Forest are probably the best that Bogner ever offered, though I am trying to find Bogner Wood Man. This has some resemblance to the vintage Jazz, but much more subdued, though not weaker. Indeed uniqe and worth the search.