Whiskey expert Jackie Zykan created a bourbon-based fragrance line and I have questions
I once wanted to smell like Michael Jordan in 1996, and then I didn't. Will I have the same feeling about bourbon?
One of my favorite smelling bourbons is Four Roses Single Barrel. The nose reminds me of a Heath Bar. English toffee and hints of chocolate. Bit of spice. Bit of oak. Bit of awesomeness.
Nosing a bourbon is all about deciphering what you’re about to sip. It’s like getting an appetizer that amplifies the main course. It’s prepping your palate, as it can awaken things in you to help you better understand the distiller’s creation. Four Roses Single Barrel, from nose to finish, all work together perfectly.
But would I want to SMELL like Four Roses Single Barrel?
A new fragrance is hitting the streets, called Oduoak. (pronounced O-DU-OAK). Created by former Old Forester whiskey blender Jackie Zykan, she has aimed to create a line of wearable perfume scents based on the aromatic profile bourbon whiskey derives from the barrel. Hand-produced in a spare room in her St. Matthews home, Zykan’s current unisex fragrance selections include the number one seller, Walk of Shame, along with other options, Love and Whiskey, Feral Gent and Mint Julep.
“ODUOAK was my way of bringing two worlds together,” said Zykan. “Traditionally, perfume is based in neutral alcohol to fully allow the fragrance oils to shine. What I have done is utilize bourbon in its pure form as a contributor of dimension to the fragrance blend. This allows for construction around that with complimentary fragrance oils, the selection of which is inspired by experiences had with a glass of bourbon in hand.”
To Zykan’s credit, her ability to utilize her skills as a taster and blender to amplify bourbon’s notes — vanilla, spice, fruit and leather — and spinning it with a new skill in perfumery, is exceptional. Zykan noted that she “started playing with the technique of using whiskey as the base with fragrance oils on top of that.”
The result, Oduoak, costs $40 for a 30mL atomizer, and her eight scents can be found on her website.
I remember when Michael Jordan unveiled his “Michael Jordan” cologne in 1996, on the heels of “Space Jam” movie release and his return to the NBA after an 18-month dalliance with minor league baseball. Jordan, the coolest athlete, maybe in the history of sport, now had a fragrance that promised to capture the essence of “His Airness.”
As a then-13-year-old, I was all-in on anything that could amplify whatever cool I had at the time. However, I can remember chatting with the homies about the cologne; someone would always mention that it had drops of MJ’s sweat in it.
The thought of wearing someone’s sweat would repulse most regular humans, but to teens still progressing through puberty, getting access to Jordan’s sweat probably felt like the equivalent of consuming a mushroom on Mario Brothers or eating a sensu bean on Dragon Ball Z. Power up.
So yes, we all went and bought the $23 (yes, that was the actual price) cologne at K-Mart, JcPenneys or whatever mid-tier department store your town or city had access to. And let me tell you something; we HATED how it smelled. My boy Mac said it had the whiff of “ass cheeks and my old baseball mitt from the fifth grade.”
Needless to say, we traded our Jordan cologne for more prominent scents of the 1990s — Cool Water, CK One, Tommy, Curve and Polo Sport Blue. Oh, what a time to be cologne nearly 30 years ago.
My question to Miss Zykan is simple: who do you REALLY want to wear this cologne and perfume vs. who will actually wear it?
My good friend Alex Wong did a story on Michael Jordan’s cologne a few years ago, and he worked with a fragrance expert to understand the ins and outs of what to make of the bottle. Here are some of his thoughts on MJ’s cologne, via SB Nation in 2019:
About 20 minutes after applying the scent to my wrist, I’m ready for my assessment. According to Bendeth, Michael Jordan cologne meshes well with my body’s DNA. A mix of sandalwood and citrus remains.
And it’s a scent that I don’t mind at all.
I have to admit, though, the scent doesn’t make me feel like a basketball phenom/movie star/sneaker mogul at the height of his power. Far from smelling like the symbol of power, grace, and cool that was Jordan, the scent is … distinguished. A sporty fragrance sophisticated enough to go into a boardroom, perhaps.
At the end of the story, Bendeth delivered the buzzer-beating game-winner.
It was, according to Bendeth, a fragrance meant for a mature audience, set up for failure from the start.
“If I was a 14-year-old kid,” she said, “I’d be like, ‘I smell like my dad.’”
Oduoak’s target demo certainly isn’t teenagers who vacillate from hoop dreams to wet dreams. Instead, the target, I assume are enthusiasts in the bourbon space who want to take some of that appreciation with them on a date or in the workplace. I can imagine that this would make for a fun gift for those who want to show a loved one they care by buying something for them that hits on a passion point — bourbon.
Ultimately, the goal for sipping spirits should be the same as smelling good — if you like it, then love it. Hopefully, the smell of booze doesn’t evoke a thought from others that I love my bourbon a bit too much.