New York for Gentlemen
Brooks Brothers (2008)

Citrus Aromatic

A prim and proper zesty lemon aromatic complete that is very conservative in nature. The opening is a very aromatic lemon -- perhaps in the vein of the little-known Aeroplane by Detaille. Then the heart is herbs that dry down to a light oakmoss/patchouli finish that lingers for quite some time. Great for office wear and will not offend anyone.

Holy sh*t this is good! Maybe I wouldn't feel this way if this fragrance was super hyped. or maybe I wouldn't feel this way if I wasn't sick and tired of the modern garbage we've been getting. Maybe if I tried this around the time when it was released, it wouldn't be as special as it is now. Unfortunately, the prices on this have skyrocketed, and although still attainable, it's getting worse each day. It's alsready at the point where the best option is to choose the mini bottles, or maybe a lot of several on ebay. Because a full size bottle will run you a pretty penny.

Onto the scent. It opens up smelling something like Dolce Gabanna, and Eau de Rochas Homme. The distinctive verbena note stands out to me. It morphs into a sort of barbershop scent with a freshness, and also quite soapy, before an herbal base. It's truly fantastic. High quality beginning to end, and very signature scent worthy. Takes you on a journey through 3 or 4 different stages, which is unique in its own right, but especially in this category. Something good for I'd say an almost middle aged professional man, it has a signature scent quality about it, like this specific smell that I get kind of in the beginning.

If you like stuff like Eau de Rochas Homme, Versace L'homme, Bowling Green, Chanel pour Monsieur you'll probably like this.

Updating this to let people know.. apparently there is 2 versions of this. One in a square cube bottle/box, that is the original one with stronger green/herbal notes, the one I reviewed above. The other is the same color concept, but in a rectangular bottle, that is the fresher one. Still the same fragrance for the most part but lightened up. I feel this is the one some of the later reviewers on here may have smelled.

This stuff is ridiculously good for the price. Bought a bottle for around $29.00 bucks at TJ Maxx and it smells great! If you stumble across a bottle and like freshies, go ahead and pull the trigger!

Do you wish that Eau Sauvage EDT had an update that swapped lemon for mandarin and smoothed out the herbal notes? Then this is the fragrance for you.

This is nothing spectacularly innovative, but it's very well made. It's a shame that it has been discontinued since the current market doesn't have many fragrances with this kind of classic DNA.

Brooks Brothers is America's oldest ready-to-wear designer brand, formed in 1818 by Henry Sands Brooks and then entering the field of ready-made suits in 1854, which was a revolutionary concept at the time since most suits were bespoke. The house grew into a designer brand with its own boutiques, featuring a logo that stems back to the Knights of the Golden Fleece of the 15th century. Brooks Brothers has always been centered around conservative men's fashion, often being the brunt of jokes as the sweaters and socks of choice for doctors and lawyers all up and down the Eastern seaboard, which is where their market is strongest. They've only dabbled in fragrance a handful of times prior to 1998, with an earier bay rum-based wet shaving cologne dating from their formative years being re-orchestrated as Brooks Brothers 1818 (2010), but Brooks Brothers overall has maintained a painfully classic vibe for most of their olfactive efforts since entering the market in earnest. Brooks Brothers New York for Gentlemen (2008) is no different, and was a brand new (at the time), honest-to-goodness aromatic citrus chypre seeing release twenty years past the genre's prime, going up against modern aquatics, gourmands, sweet woody ambers, and other freshies. Seasoned hobbyists and vintage guys were probably both elated that something like this was seeing release in 2008, but likely also scratching their heads as to why Brooks Brothers would be so obstinately old-fashioned with their fragrance designs in the face of almost certain failure, but that's not to say New York for Gentlemen isn't entirely without its modern touches. With that having been said, it takes a special kind of person to fully embrace what is on display here, since New York for Gentlemen exists in a strange neutral zone between niche, vintage and designer, with a price point meant to be reasonable when bought new, but with the presumed prestige of the Brooks Brothers name behind it, and a certain level of niche-like rarity combined with its throwback design, making this something you can't just buy anywhere.

Virtually unknown perfumer Richard Herpin composed this for Brooks Brothers, and he seems to know what their mostly middle-aged haute bourgeois clientele likes. The opening is the usual chypre salvo of bergamot, with sharp pangs of petitgrain balanced out by lush verbena, and a sweet mandarin tone to bring the opening away from being overly-compared to 50's, 60's, and 70's greats from the genre. New York for Gentlemen doesn't try to step on the toes of something like Christian Dior Eau Sauvage (1966), even if it does borrow some of its hedione in the transition to the heart. Carnation and orris root phase in next, the latter being an unusual choice given the genre type, but it works well when flanked with that carnation and the dirty cumin which counterbalances said soapy orris. That cumin note isn't strong enough to impart a severe sweat funk like Cartier Déclaration (1998) or Eau d'Hermès (1951), but it does add a stroke of virile manliness to an otherwise clean scent. Clary sage adds a bit of barbershop recollection to the dry down of New York for Gentlemen, while fresh and non-smoky green vetiver, musk, dry javanol sandalwood, and a slight but convincing oakmoss base note anchor the composition to skin. The mandarin maintains the lightest touch of modern sweetness to make this not feel like a total anachronism but still clearly an aromatic citrus chypre, while the vetiver dances with the cumin to make the scent feel a tad more earthy alongside the light oakmoss application. Wear time will be decent at eight hours plus, and this is too serious with it's near-lack of florals (save that carnation) to be anything but a formal or office scent, although maybe it can pull some casual usage for guys into such a mature vibe. Sillage is not wild with New York for Gentlemen, showing that discretion is the greater part of valor with an understated but persistent glow of scent around the wearer. Spring through early fall are the best seasons to use New York for Gentlemen, unless you spend most of your time in climate-controlled spaces, in which case anything goes.

New York for Gentlemen proved that the well hadn't yet run dry with fresh ideas for a what was a nearly-dead genre at the time, and although almost no one has really heard of this stuff, a lot of East Coast "old money" guys would have bought this love letter to classic male perfumery in 2008 over any thing Yves Saint Laurent or Calvin Klein were putting out, especially in lieu of knowing about prestige houses like Creed. Vintage colognoisseurs believing an equation of "bergamot + sandalwood + oakmoss = masterpiece" is the prime directive of male perfumery still might find New York for Gentlemen lacking because the scent is not made with the same natural purity as the mid 20th century greats it emulates, but tries to hide that fact with impeccable blending. New York for Gentlemen sits in the lighter side of the chypre spectrum, and is comparable to 1881 Pour Homme by Nino Cerruti (1990), Monsieur de Givenchy (1959), and Armanu Eau Pour Homme (1984), so another potential snafu may arise for guys with wardrobes loaded down with scents of this ilk, since this Brooks Brothers entry may be lost in the mix. Furthermore, that one touch of modern mandarin sweetness may just be a touch too much for the dyed-in-the-wool macho man wanting a traditional bone-dry chypre experience. Lastly, availability seems sporadic at best, with the original argyle-patterned blue bottle being discontinued, then a new version using Brooks Brothers' current rectangular bottles periodically going in and out of production, meaning eBay sellers are constantly between tripling prices after a drought and lowering or ending listings when more stock is unearthed somewhere, placing an annoying "yo-yo effect" on the scent. Thumbs up from me for this underrated "modern classic" gem, but with the caveat that as an old-school citrus chypre with a touch of new-school sensibility made with modern designer ingredients and a pickle to find, New York for Gentlemen may be hard to like for some, and even harder to try without blind buying. Thumbs up.

New York for Gentlemen is an aromatic citrus fragrance, firmly conceived in the classical style. The initial opening is mostly a burst of bergamot; thereafter it moves towards a green aromatic heart and base with mostly vetiver and light mossy woods. It bears a modern touch by significantly toning down the woods, and without having any rough edge. While it is quite generic among traditional classic citrus fragrances, it is also fairly well executed. Reminiscent of Eau Sauvage and sometimes Grey Vetiver, it is smooth, rounded and exhibits rather discreet sillage and average tenacity on skin.

New York for Gentlemen would perhaps not top any list of recommendations, but it is certainly commendable, and presents a good proposition for anyone after a classic aromatic citrus; it is worth seeking out if one is particularly into the style. New York or not, it is certainly gentlemanly.

I am not sure why Brooks Brothers pulled New York for Gentlemen out of the market - I believe it has been discontinued. It surely has become harder to find, and prices appear to have increased threefold. One can approach the venerable Eau Sauvage for a superior replacement, or something from the Acqua di Parma line if potency is a concern.


3/5