Cool Water vs. Drakkar Noir Cologne Comparison

In today’s cologne comparison, I’m going to take things back to the 1980s for a face off between two scents, which were powerhouses then and continue to be best sellers into the present time. In one corner, we have Cool Water by Davidoff. In the other, Guy Laroche’s Drakkar Noir. Which one of these colognes smells better? Which has the better performance?

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Quick Overview

🏆 My Verdict

Cool Water wins on opening, versatility, and overall scent, while Drakkar Noir wins on projection and longevity.

Buy Cool Water if you want the fresher, cleaner, more versatile aquatic fragrance that works easily for daily wear and warm weather. You might also try the ‘inspired by’ the vintage formula alternative from Dua, called: His Dua Water

Buy Drakkar Noir if you prefer a darker, sharper fougère with stronger projection, longer wear, and more of that classic 80s masculine edge. You might also try an alternative: Black Viking Ship

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Tale of the Tape: Drakkar vs. Cool Water

Drakkar Noir

Notes included: sandalwood, lavender, citrus, cinnamon, leather, vetiver, oakmoss, cedar, fir

Click here to try: Drakkar Noir By Guy Laroche For Men. Eau De Toilette Spray 6.7 Ounces

My original review: Drakkar Noir Review

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Cool Water

Notes include: lavender, mint, tobacco, amber, musk, jasmine, sandalwood, neroli, coriander, rosemary, and more

Click here to try: Davidoff Cool Water Edt Spray for Men, 6.7 oz

My Original Review: Cool Water

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Opening

With Drakkar Noir, the opening part of the wear gives me a very dry and smooth aroma. I particularly get the oak moss and lavender notes, which bring about that creamy/soapy vibe, and then there is the slight warm spice of cinnamon.

Cool Water is more oceanic. It also has a soapy lavender feel but with a crisp and cool mint note. It’s quite sharp to my nose at the start, but gradually settles into a fragrance with more amber smoothness.

Underneath is the greenish qualities, a good deal of uncured tobacco.

The opening of Cool Water is the most interesting part of the fragrance, to me. Plenty of tobacco and mint, with that underlying aquatic feel. Yes, it can seem somewhat sharp, but it comes across a different from many more modern fragrances.

Between the two, I think I enjoy the opening of Cool Water better. Yes, it’s more in your face than is Drakkar but the oceanic touch to the lavender, just seems more interesting to me.

Edge: Cool Water

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Projection

Cool Water starts off with stronger sillage. However, as things move along Drakkar is more consistent over the course of the wear.

Neither of these scents is an absolute beast in terms of sillage. Both more towards the upper moderate end of the spectrum. There’s not really a clear winner.

Edge: Push

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Longevity

Drakkar is good but not great. I’ve usually gotten 6-7 hours out of it. Meanwhile, Cool Water will deliver 8+ hours.

This is one of those aspects of these fragrances that can be effected by the reformulations. So, just judging by the bottles, I’ve recently sprayed from this is the conclusion I’ve drawn. The vintage bottles may be a different story.

I’m sure that the vintage formulas of each, had better performance. I do know that Drakkar had some natural ingredients in the past, that aren’t allowed to be used anymore. So, that effects the entire structure and performance of a scent.

Edge: Cool Water

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Versatility

Drakkar is dry and for the colder months of the year. While Cool Water, performs great during the summertime.

Both have the same applications basically. They can be worn casually, at work, or for a night on the town. Neither is a club type of cologne.

Drakkar Noir strikes me as more mature as a scent. Cool Water seems more youthful and closer to an inexpensive version of Green Irish Tweed. I’m tempted to give Cool Water the edge, as it seems more universally like, but there’s not too much difference here.

Edge: Push

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Overall Scent

Man, this is tougher than I thought that it would be to decide a winner. I’m not a huge fan of either one of these fragrances for my own personal style and tastes, but I do think that they’re both solid choices.

I like to dark and dry spice that Drakkar Noir offers and I think that it gets better during the dry down, when more leather begins to emerge.

With Cool Water, it’s like a more oceanic/summery Green Irish Tweed. I like the crispness of the mint and how it shifts into a more amber-laden cologne after an hour or so. Plus, Cool Water has the better longevity on my skin, and I enjoy the upbeat summery vibe.

With that in mind, I’m going to give the nod to Cool Water. I also think that it has more of a universal application than does Drakkar Noir. More guys will probably like the Davidoff scent and it will cover a wider range of styles than the Drakkar.

Maybe the original vintage bottles would have yielded a different result, but I think Cool Water checks more boxes currently. Note: here are alternative options to each, that are cheaper and should give better performance: His Dua Water and Black Viking Ship

Winner: Cool Water

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Who Should Buy Each?

Choose Cool Water if:

You want the better overall everyday fragrance
You prefer fresh aquatic scents with mint, lavender, green notes, and seawater freshness
You need something easy for office wear, gym use, or warm-weather daily wear
You want the more versatile and modern-smelling option
You prefer freshness over darker fougère sharpness

Choose Drakkar Noir if:

You want stronger projection and better longevity
You prefer lavender, rosemary, bergamot, spice, woods, and a classic fougère profile
You like darker, sharper, old-school masculine fragrances
You mainly wear fragrance in cooler weather or evenings
You want more boldness and vintage masculine character