“Ricardo Ramos inherited the sense of smell from his paternal grandfather, also named Ricardo Ramos, horseman and pioneer in the Colombian coffee export business from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s, and a great promoter of the implantation of international strains of coffee in Colombian territory, he taught his grandson from the early age of 7 the importance of the sense of smelling through coffee. His contact with the fragrance industry began more than twenty years ago with the raw materials from Quest Int laboratories, then he had access to the palette of Givaudan in Paris, and continued in the MG International laboratories in Istanbul. This long path, through the laboratories has been made by the hand of his great life time friend, mentor in perfumery, and creative partner, also of Colombian origin, Senior perfumer Jorge Lee.”
HOUSE: Ricardo Ramos
ORIGIN: Spain
FRAGRANCES: Al Misk, Sacro Monte
CONCENTRATION: EDP
NOSE: Jorge Lee
COST: 100ml / $141-183
Al Misk (2017, 91%): Like a dusty wind coming in from the Sierras. This is a dually detached and embracing work of artful perfumery, right from the start – especially if you enjoy subtle fragrances that take time to develop into something full of wisdom and quietude. This is a slippery olfactory experience, the perfume is airy yet so rich of balsamic values I’ve never experienced. The spices are of some warm origin and the woody musk has a parched appeal. Full of whispers and shadows this is one of those consciousness-expanding multi sensory journeys for our times. This is a rare bird amid perfumes, way before its time, or of ancient provenance – or both combined. There’s a softness about it, woodsy and warm, just charming — and yet there’s this pious sense of ‘churchy’ silence built-in which has a certain sense of assurance and calm. One of my three favorites from the innovative house.
Notes: bergamot, absinthe, copaiba, magnolia, mace, black pepper, Tibetan musk, Gurjum balsam, Guayacán wood
Sacro Monte (2016, 86%): At first it comes off as a tea-based fragrance with a drizzle of honey, but once things begin to open up and warm in the air I’m suddenly in the open amid some wild flowers. There’s an earthy jamminess, thick like a ganache that is poised in the foreground, and a boundless meadow glow surrounding you on all sides. The green notes are so incredible, but elusively caught in glimpses. In one moment it’s clean linens drying on a line outdoors, and next an adjacent barn complete with a horse of golden mane. A stirring perfume that is quite androgynous, ambiguous, and otherwise edgeless. This could be worn to a casual or formal affair, but either way the wearer will be noticed for the overtly clean and aromatic way in which this induces the deep unconscious.
Notes: freshly cut grass, fig leaf, basil, lily of the valley, jasmine, plum, fig, white musk, dry amber, hay
Recommended Soundtrack:
Thomas Fehlmann – Gute Luft (2010, Kompakt)
Daily Fragrance Reviews 
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