A compliment to EastWest Bottlers Moonshine
At the time of writing this, I decided I wanted to add a review, as there weren't as many reviews as I would have liked to see. Especially because I would hate for a lack of reviews to be a barrier for someone to purchase from a company putting out great products. It goes without saying, but I am a big fan of EastWest Bottler's (EWB) other cologne, Moonshine; needless to say, I was eager to try out bluegrass. That said, I was a bit nervous buying a product sight...er...smell unsmelled (the same reservation I recall feeling when hitting the 'order' button year back on my bottle of Moonshine).
The packaging is top notch, just like with Moonshine. Strangely, the cap was sealed on the bottle's neck very tightly. Well played EWB, you made me feel like a man trying to muscle it open. At any rate, it is difficult to summarize fragrances verbally, so I may have to refer to how the scent 'feels'. Well, I go back to my masculine comment; many off-the-shelf brands are far too floral and feminine. bluegrass is a great balance between airy and masculinity.
I will also say, compared to Moonshine, which is very unique, bluegrass has notes more in line with other brands one might find in the men's fragrance market. That's not a bad thing. In fact, I much prefer bluegrass to most fragrance samples I have tried. While similar notes are there, the astringent burn to the nose is not; in other words, bluegrass is a very palatable product, very smooth. Another reviewer said it best, bluegrass is an ideal fragrance for spring and summer. As such, it is a great contrast to Moonshine, which I consider to be ideal for fall and winter (as the notes are heartier).
One minor issue I have with bluegrass, which may not be such a bad thing to others, is the fragrance doesn't last as long as I would hope. In fact, it's pretty short compared to other fragrances I have tried. I'm no connoisseur of fragrances, but I believe this is a point of differentiation between the various concentrations of fragrance (in descending order of concentration of fragrance oil: Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, and Eau de Cologne). So the product description for bluegrass is most certainly correct by being marketed as a cologne. And from what I have read, colognes are typically expected to last only a couple hours. That said, I would be keenly interested if EWB produces a 'reserve' version of this, a higher concentrated formula. I would also be very curious to see what sort of fragrance the guys at EWB could come up with on the 'citrusy' side of the spectrum.
