Brooklyn by Bond No. 9

So, I’m back to the site, after taking more than a month off from reviewing anything. I noticed that I hadn’t finished with all of my Bond No. 9 samples from a few months back and decided that I should get back to business. Today’s scent is Brooklyn, a unisex scent from the brand. How does it smell? What’s inside? Is Brooklyn worth a purchase? Scroll down to find out my complete take.

What does Brooklyn by Bond No. 9 Smell Like?

Notes include: gin, cedar, cypress, juniper berries, grapefruit, cardamom, leather

Click here to try: Bond No. 9 Brooklyn Eau De Parfum Spray for Women, 3.3 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

The opening of Brooklyn starts out with a really dry blend of cypress, cedar, and leather. It is an interesting combination and strikes me as somewhat different than many other woodsy scents.

A few minutes into its life, those notes are met with an outburst of juniper berry and gin. This creates an herbal/boozy/woody triumvirate that is surprisingly fresh and unoffensive.

From there on out, Brooklyn is a pretty linear fragrance. There isn’t much change that I noticed while wearing it. This particular blend of notes seems to give off a fizzy drink aroma, as if you added seltzer water to gin and berries. Brooklyn is a very clean type of scent with a zesty kick to it.

Cypress and the mixed drink element, really dominate this scent, and if you’re not into that Brooklyn isn’t the right choice. It’s kind of an odd choice to represent Brooklyn with, but that’s basically what you get here.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, Brooklyn isn’t the best. I sprayed 3 times on my forearm and couldn’t detect it unless I moved my nose particularly close. It’s fine that it’s not a beast, but it does seem kind of weak, on my skin at least.

Update: Coming back to this again, it is pretty middle of the road. Even the initial sprays aren’t all that powerful and Brooklyn is going to stay quite close to the skin. 3-6 feet at its maximum.

In terms of its longevity, I got about six hours out of it as a skin scent. Not amazing but not the worst that I’ve ever encountered either. Update: Yep, still getting about six hours out of this. It’s just not a formula that seems to last all that long.

Brooklyn is a unisex scent and I would say that it leans more to the masculine side of things. The dry woods being balanced out by boozy fruit, makes this one a solid spring/early summer wear, in my mind.

Still, women can easily wear this one too. It’d be a nice change of pace from the usual fruity and floral fare.

Very casual scent not one that would feel particularly sexy or engaging. Just pleasant. Dry and then fizzy, with a nice crisp feeling. You could wear this at night or around town during the day. I don’t know that you’d want to smell like gin at work, so I’d probably skip wearing it as a daily.

Overall Impressions of Brooklyn

Overall, would I recommend Brooklyn? I think the fragrance is decent. I just wish that it would last longer on my skin. I’m definitely not blown away by the scent, in the slightest. Though, I do appreciate what they were going for and its certain level of uniqueness.

Update: Coming back to this one after a few years, this does have a lot of the same style as Vodka on the Rocks by Kilian. Obviously, Brooklyn came out in 2008, so it is more original. However, I was really reminded of that newer fizzy boozy perfume. This one has the leathery accord and that cypress sticks out. 

I like the gin, cypress, and leather notes. It’s not my favorite alcoholic aroma (prefer rum or cognac scent), but it’s nice enough overall.

The problem of course, is its pricing. If the cost doesn’t bother you, I’d say try it out, if it appears intriguing. If it’s a stretch for you to afford, I’d skip this one.

It’s going to appeal to a certain niche segment of fragrance wearers. For most, Brooklyn is completely not necessary. It’s fresh and interesting, just not amazing, in any way.

Best Men's Colognes

Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.