Uphill: This smell unlocks ATMs

The number that millions of people perfectly remember, but think they were the only ones who came up with a secret code is 4711. It is probably the name of the most famous and best-selling perfume in the world. This perfume is from Germany.

No. 4711 is the original Cologne water, Echt Kölnish Wasser. The word “cologne” comes from this perfume, because in French the water of Cologne is Eau de Cologne. That is why in the United States, perfumes (those that are imagined or sold as masculine) are simply called “cologne.”

The 4711 is a number that has already been genetically etched into the brains of Western civilization, just like the three-digit 747, the model number of the world’s most famous airliner, the Boeing 747.

These perfumes are over two hundred years old, and legend has it that they were created by monks for medical purposes and donated in 1792 to a Cologne merchant, Wilhelm Muelhens, on the occasion of a wedding, both to calm the nerves and to strengthen the body. and that it was recommended to drink cigars (in these In the year 2020 of Our Lord, I really do not recommend drinking perfume, cologne, not even after-shave lotion), and as a condiment for wine. In fact, the customs at the time were incredible, although there were strangers at all times: around 1980, Japanese businessmen were seen tasting Chateau Petrus or Chateau Lafite wine, bought for a couple thousand dollars a bottle (in today’s money ), slipping glue into it not too acidic “). I don’t know how much truth there is in that legend, but knowing that Coca-Cola itself was invented a century ago with little or no medical purpose, and even some of the ingredients in its essence They are the same, it would not be surprising.

4711 is the number of the house where the merchant lived, who was supposedly given a secret elixir by the monks. Another legend says that in 1810, when Cologne was occupied by Napoleon, the French demanded that the ingredients and formulas of all medicines sold be made public, and Mr. Muelhens did not want to publish “secret formulas” and began to sell that healing essence. like perfume. I don’t know how much the truth is here: the “secret formulas”, from the nonsense that three people in the world know about the Coca-Cola formula (actually known and publicly available) to your Aunt Janina’s “secret cake recipe” They are usually grandmother’s stories and it is very useful for marketing. After all, if you list the components, everything will be much simpler, and where will there be a legend and a mystery?

Cologne 4711 is a blend of citrus and fruit flowers, very refreshing and equally suitable for men and women. The depth is small. Associatively, it is reminiscent of old hairdressers in many parts of Western Europe, as in some of them Eau de Cologne may have been the only perfume that the customer generously sprayed on leaving (in Italy such perfumes are Proraso, I wrote about them here ).

The smell clearly shows how it was created: what it had, put it together. Above are oranges, lemons, bergamot, neroli (the essence of the flowers of bitter orange trees) and petigren (the essence of the leaves and branches of the same bitter orange), and when that citrus feast recedes a little, rosemary and a little rose oil are very strong. of which many people want to call it a feminine fragrance, but this is not true because the rose has no gender. Well, and finally, a very conservative, almost technical base – musk (basically just for hold, longer shelf life) and a bit of a wood theme that I suspect was not in the original formula, added later when the time for the perfume to last longer.

That’s it. You ask me, what is that resemblance to Coca-Cola? The flavor of the drink contains three of the same essential oils as cologne 4711, but very few in cola: essential oils of orange, lemon and neroli.

To me this fragrance is really dated, maybe due to the combination of a rose with a citrus attack, and it really won’t sell easily to young people because it is so reminiscent of grandma’s perfume and no one wants to smell like a baby, or even more like a louse. However, I have seen people, taxi drivers, who (even before the Covid-19 virus) sanitized their hands with it in Germany: I found it a great idea, hygiene and historical perfumery in a single bottle. And oranges and roses are definitely better than the scent of a standard sanitizer.