If you're Thierry Mugler and you're sitting on a recipe as luscious, rich, and beautiful as A*Men, you can play the flanker game all day long and just print money. The A*Men core DNA lends itself to many variations, and the "Pure X" line demonstrates that. This particular flanker, A*Men Pure Malt, is no exception.
The beating heart of A*Men is here, and its presence is strong. Right from the opening curtain, there is that signature blend of coffee, light cocoa, and yes, the darker-tinged essence of cotton candy. Other flankers in the Pure line take this nucleus and turn up the vanilla, or add more coffee, or inject an shot of dried fruits, but Pure Malt -- as the name might indicate -- wants to "honor the tradition of whiskies," according to the designer.
How to do that? Take it in a slightly boozier direction, I suppose, although there isn't any official liquor note listed in the mix -- no rum, no whisky, no essence of bourbon. Instead, perfumer Jacques Huclier seems to have simulated the malt whisky effect by adding in some sharp citrus blended with cinnamon. It's subtle, for sure, but it adds the proper nose-tingling effect in the opening notes that make you say, "Ah, ok, whisky." Add in a dried fruit accord and you have a reasonable enough simulation.
However, when all of the excitement dies down after the first 15-20 minutes, we are left -- sadly -- with a bouquet that is 98% identical to the original A*Men, with perhaps just a touch of extra caramel. In a blind sniff test after the dry-down, I'd bet on most people not being able to distinguish Pure Malt from the regular A*Men.
A lovely scent, and a fascinating novelty for the whisky special effects in the beginning, but ultimately it's hard to justify the extra expense for something that is, for all intents and purposes, a back-up bottle of the original.
6/10 stars.
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