The Montblanc Cologne That Will Have You Adventure Ready

Gifting a scent can be a rather intimate gift for the holidays. But it’s hard to know what cologne is right for the men in your life. So before you head to the scent counter and start spraying, you should know a thing or two about what is out there. Montblanc’s Explorer — which was only released back in February — is the kind of scent that can work on almost any man with a bit of adventure in his blood. Explorer is an aromatic, leathery scent that can navigate any season or occasion.

To create this masculine scent, Montblanc enlisted three of the globe’s top perfumers: Jordi Fernandez, Antoine Maisondieu and Olivier Pescheux — all from the respectable fragrance company Givaudan. Each of them brought a single ingredient from around the world to give the Explorer the globe-trotting scent Montblanc was after. The scent features notes of bergamot from Italy, vetiver from Haiti and patchouli from Indonesia.

Each of these ingredients was painstakingly sourced from wherever the best could be found. Bergamot is the top note and it’s been sourced from Calabria in Southern Italy, with each bergamot tree taking four to five years to bear fruit. But beyond the time to maturation of the fruit, it also takes the fruit of two trees to produce a single kilogram of essential oil. The Haitian vetiver is at the heart of the Explorer with the root’s oil bringing calming earthy and woodsy notes as well as a wintery depth that you would love to catch a smell of at any holiday party. Lastly, the fragrant, bushy Indonesian patchouli (which has been used for centuries in perfumery) brings about a rich and warm scent. This too is hard to come by. To make a single kilo of essential oil from this premium patchouli, it takes 200 times that amount in fresh leaves.

Each of these ingredients is combined to produce a deep rich scent that is pleasing and apparent, yet subtle. It’s packaged in a handsome bottle that is worthy of admiration by itself and would look stunning poking out of a stocking or being eagerly unwrapped. And once it makes the transition to the vanity, it’ll look good proudly displayed for all to see, relegating others to the confines of a drawer. From adventurous holiday journeys to the everyday swing of things, Montblanc Explorer can suit you anywhere.