Composed by Jean-Paul Guerlain and launched in 2007 as a limited edition, Spiritueuse Double Vanille later joined L’Art & La Matière. This woody ambery fragrance pushes a Madagascan vanilla to excess, with rum, cedar, benzoin, jasmine and ylang-ylang, over a top of pink pepper, bergamot and incense.
Robin Krug finds Spiritueuse Double Vanille simply delicious, smoky and comforting; Victoria Frolova, more severe, judges it monotonous and heavy, a candle vanilla rather than that of a great perfume.
Olfastory’s review
Robin Krug, Now Smell This, January 2008
In a January 2008 review, the author finds it simply delicious: thick and rich, with boozy accents and a smoky swirl that reminds her of vanilla-scented pipe tobacco. She would almost like to drink it as much as wear it.
The drydown, softer and less boozy, stays for her neither heavy nor foody. Guerlain called it carnal and aphrodisiac; she sees it above all as a comfort scent, the ideal antidote to winter gloom, and notes that it lasts a long time.
Victoria Frolova, Bois de Jasmin, July 2011
Rating the fragrance two stars out of five, the author finds it discordant: a fruity note recalling rum raisin ice cream, a rich balsamic base, and a loud vanilla that brings to mind a candle more than a fine perfume.
In her view its vanilla plays a single tune that quickly becomes monotonous, and its sweetness, barely tempered by the smoky woods and spices, weighs like a heavy drape. She suggests Casmir by Chopard or Havana Vanille by L’Artisan Parfumeur instead.