Fior di Chinotto
Abaton Bros. (2018)

Fior di Chinotto by Abaton Bros. (2018) is one of three themed fragrances based around the chinotto planet, a type of citrus imported from China by Savonese sailors to Italy. The chinotto plant is called "citrus myrtifolia" outside Italy, or the myrtle-leaved orange tree, and the "chinotto" fruit themselves are typically used to flavor aperitifs and sodas. The bitter aroma of the chinotto lends it an almost "dark neroli" quality that becomes the primary facet of all perfumes in the Chinotto line by Abaton Bros. With Fior di Chinotto, we see mostly the blossom of the planet become the focus of a white floral musk composition, one that is marketed feminine but can really almost be considered unisex in tone. Two version of this fragrance exist; a parfum and an eau de parfum, and I am reviewing the former. Floral musks are a dime a dozen in the realm of niche perfumes, and all invariably overpriced, so what really sets this one apart from all the other option at the price point of a niche fragrance is theme.

The opening of Fior di Chinotto is fresh and sweet, with chinotto blossom, damask rose, and the chinotto fruit itself. This "dark neroli" aspect I mentioned comes out in full force, and can be seen as a halfway between blood orange and neroli in tone. Put another way, you get the sweet florality of neroli, but the dark deep uncanny-yet-still-citric vibrato of blood orange, which itself is typical more found in gourmands for that reason. After this dark sweet floral opening, jasmine and tuberose come in softly, to lift up and liven the mixture. Tuberose is very well-controlled here, barely musky or fleshy at all, and a big dollop of denatured patchouli (without terpenes) comes in to add a rounded nose feel. The base is surprisingly 1980's in tone, with a honeyed musk note over layed on top "white woods" (some kind of aromachemical again). The honeyed musk makes me think of powerhouses like Estée Lauder Knowing (1988) or Lapidus pour Homme (1987) but with a more-polite musk in place of their civet. Wear time is over 10 hours with moderate performance all around. Fior di Chinotto feels casual spring through early autumn to me, and fit for anyone.

The big kicker about Fior di Chinotto besides the novel top note is that sweet honeyed musk in the base, adding a bit of unexpected sexiness to an otherwise innocent fragrance made for picnics in the park. This is the kind of thing you'd catch in the air and go "oh what is that?" but think nothing of it if you couldn't find the owner, yet might consider snuggling up to said owner if it was someone in your company. For me, this makes Fior di Chinotto a dual-purpose kind of scent that could feel appropriate among strangers, or worn places where you'll bump into Mr. or Ms. right, yet nothing is overtly sexual about it. There's just something about a well-mannered citrus blossom and tuberose musk that feels both unassuming yet also passively come-hither, like everything hinges on context. The bottom line here is the scent sells for near the $200 price point for the parfum and closer to $150 for the EdT, which isn't horrendous for a niche fragrance, but can be a big bite to take for subject like this, no matter how exotic the source of your fruit. Still, worth a sniff. Thumbs up.

A big, pretty white floral. Smelled closely, it feels like a big, loud mix of tuberose and orange blossom, but with rose and jasmine added to make it smell like a white floral accord more than any specific floral. It's temporarily orangey on top and gets soapy over time, and even a touch woody in the base, but the big floral mix is definitely the focus.

This feels Italian in that it's quite beautiful, but it screams its beauty at the top of its lungs. As an aside, this smells nothing like chinotto, the small, sour citrus fruits that are candied and eaten whole or used to make bitters. But it's still a nice floral perfume, so thumbs up.