Hot Water
Davidoff (2009)

Hot Water by Davidoff (2009) is fairly misunderstood, and pretty reviled, throughout the online fragrance community; and while I'm not egotistical or pretentious enough to say everyone's wrong about the stuff, I do think it is better than people give credit. I also think the stuff just doesn't have an audience among self-appointed tastemakers, connoisseurs, and collectors who think anyone that buys their perfume from a Zara in 2024 "deserves" fragrance. I think expectations are entirely too high for this scent, and moreover, Hot Water probably was the "ha ha look it's the opposite" flanker to the genre-defining Davidoff Cool Water (1988) that absolutely no one in the entire infinite multiversal realm of possibility asked for, yet we got it anyway... much to our chagrin. Long faces and eye-rolls at the naming aside, there is something to enjoy here.

For starters, I had some sort of opinion going in that this would be a sickly-sweet cinnamon bomb wrapped in amber and tonka, like the color of the bottle and name suggests. As it turns out, I couldn't be more wrong. Hot Water opens with wormwood and basil, with some drying violet ionones that add a green feel similar to the original Cool Water, then mixing in some slightly-aqueous dihydromyrcenol, bridging a sort of Cool Water-meets-Fahrenheit by Dior (1988) sort of vibe which I find enjoyable in a chaotic way. From there you have some red pepper notes, some geranium, and a bit of cedar Iso E Super backfill, to keep things woody and masculine rather than dipping back into ambroxan-led aquatic musk land, but it works. The thin veneer of patchoulol with some styrax and tonka finishes out Hot Water, and that's a wrap.

Performance is good enough for me, although I don't need screamers anymore to feel good about my scent, so there's that. Olivier Polge worked on this alongside Domitle Bertier so I can see some of the Polge pedigree for abstract blending here, and the fact the younger Polge gnashed his teeth on so many B-tier designers like Davidoff, Claiborne, and Ferragamo alongside bigger names like Dior before being promoted up to daddy's position as head perfumer of Chanel says a lot about his willingness to do god things on a budget. I can see how people might have wanted something stiffer, stronger, more resolutely oriental in tone, or more of a "club banger"; but this is Davidoff we're talking about here, and that's just not what they do. One could easily use the venerable Cool Water in work or during the day, then slip into this at night. Thumbs up

The first thirty minutes are shockingly close to Polo Double Black. So much so that I decided to reapply it in tandem with some Double Black on my other hand. Hot Water actually starts off a lot 'thinner' than Double Black, but to my nose it has a perfect note match. Surprisingly though Hot Water takes off in a different direction at the half hour mark, becoming sweeter, spicier and with a lot of pink pepper. This change is so radical that the two fragrances no longer have any chance of being mistook for one another.

Unfortunately, for me Hot Water just doesn't last beyond three hours. Meaning that the unique, and actually enjoyable part of the fragrance plays out for two hours.

Not the best fragrance of Davidoff. It reminds me of Armani Code because of the powdery sweetness. Davidoff could've done better, but I do like it sometimes because it is a unique smell in some way and a good choice if you want to smell different. However do not overspray as it is a fairly strong scent and can be overwhelming easily.

I bought very cheaply in 2017.
A weak spicy sweet smell which for me last about 15 minutes and nobody really notices...
I use it in my wadrobe to freshen up my socks and underwear after they get washed, but I doubt even if it any good for that...
1/10

This was easily my worst purchase to date - never again will I trust the advice of a salesperson.

The sweet and spicy notes serve to confuse rather than complement each other and the unimaginative bottle design leaves much to be desired.

The only good thing is that the olfactory torture doesn't last for long.

Not too hotA slightly boozy absinth note with a peppery patchouli notes lead to a drydown that a true benzoin fest. In the base a strong styrax note is added, and overall it is very synthetic and unconvincing on my skin, from where is is vanished after two hours. Sample first.