John Barleycorn

[gnl]

Barley, beer, blood, and whiskey.

In the bottle: Okay, I'm getting the beer, but also something sorta...cherry? Or caramel? I'm not sure. I'm not getting an exact scent with it. Pleasant but nothing exciting.

Wet: Barley. And a little bit of beer, I think, but combined it's a kinda musky smell.

Dry: Barley and beer, with a little tang of blood. Gets kinda powdery after a while.

Verdict: Decent smell, definitely does what it says on the tin. Not exactly my thing, though. I think it's maybe a little too masculine for me.

3/5

[gwynhwyfar]

In the bottle, this is beer.

Wet, this is beer.

After drydown, this is beer.

Four hours later, this is beer.

 

Are you noticing a trend here? So did I!

 

This disappointed me because I gravitate to the blood accord blends. Since I can't really smell like I had a bender before coming in to work, this is definitely not the oil for me.

[Dymphna]

In the imp: When I first got my decants, I sniffed this and thought, "Ew, smells like beer. I'll try it some other time." And I never got around to it because I never felt like smellng like beer long enough to test it. But today, I opened it and it smelled like...malt and bubblegum. I know that sounds weird, but it's actually a pretty nice combination, sweetly spicy but also sort of earthy. So I swiped.

 

Wet: Still malted bubblegum. This is very unusual, but at the same time somehow familiar and very nice. There's a warm, musky undertone that's very cozy.

 

Dry: A bit less sweet, less bubblegummy. Very herbal but not in a fresh herbs kind of way. More like dried herbs, that dry, spicy, tangy, earthy scent. It reminds me of the herb section at the back of my favorite health food shop, all the dried herbs in their big glass jars. I can only guess that the sweetness is coming from the "blood" (if Beth used dragon's blood), the malt is obviously from whatever makes up the beer note, the grains are from the barley and the warmth is coming from the whiskey. I have to say, I had zero expectation of this one working on my skin, or of even liking it when I sniffed it. I just got a decant for the name/concept. But this is one of the few of this year's Halloweenies that I've tried (and I've tried about two-thirds of them, I think) that works on me. It's gorgeous, perfectly autumnal--warm, cozy, evocative--and not at all the scary "keg party gone horribly wrong" scent that I feared. I really, really, really like it. Maybe I even love it.

 

(After testing on the back of my hand to write the review, I swiped a larger amount on my wrist and the whiskey bloomed right away. It's teetering on the edge of that banana bread scent I get from Mad Sweeney, but then that passes, thank goodness. Gah, this is fantastic! Okay, okay, I love it.)

[tinyvulture]

i like the sweet grains and the sort of metallic, sort of resinous blood note (the same blood note as in the cracked bell, maybe?) but the whiskey and beer are too much. i enjoy the authenticity of these notes, but smelling them on my skin reminds me of bad college hangovers, and makes me feel slightly ill. there’s also an odd lemony note that isn’t helping. off to swaps you go, mr. barleycorn!

[Argentwolf]

Admittedly, this is less-than-pleasant upon first application; you get all of the beery, boozy qualities of it, that stale, sour leftover-whiskey smell that lingers on your breath the morning after. Not nice.

 

However! It calms down and behaves itself really quickly. It is like a burly, scruffy man with booze on his breath, who completely surprises you by reciting a lovely poem from memory. The harsh booziness goes away, and you are left with a sweet, malty sort of aroma, like you're leaning over a freshly-drained cask of whiskey and inhaling that slightly-toasted, caramely smell that's still soaked into the wood. Once it's morphed to that stage, it stays there. I really liked this one.

[Jilara]

Booze! And smoke! I keep thinking of the song "Booze, booze, booze, booze, moppin' up the whiskey on the floor..."

 

But it reminds me very much of Mad Sweeny. I like Mad Sweeny, but not on me. I use it as a room scent, to make me think of a nice Pub somewhere. Well, John Barleycorn is like that, with a bit more booze than pub. Not sure about the blood note. It's just rich an very slightly smokey (bloody?) and boozy, with a slight grassy undertone that lightens it. Pub Lite. I intend to use this one as a room scent, also. I have an oil warmer, and I think the note will give a scent like an alestand at Renfaire, with hay bales in the background and a rich whiskey and beer aroma.

[Kittenmorag]

In the bottle- A real malty, chumpy sort of smell. A little like Guiness, actually- a scent that eats like a meal. The grain of the barley and the hops of the beer are very subtle notes, and there is the slightest tang of blood. It's very complicated for a wet smell.

 

On the wrist- What I can only assume is the barley comes straight to the front. There is a slight, high, tangy note- someone mentioned lemon, and while I wouldn't say exactly lemon, it does have a citrus shape to it. Sometimes i'll get sweet bits poking through, but mostly it's down-to-earth, with a bit of fine beer over the top. There is a deep, deep tang to it that's probably the blood, but not like the blood-note in the Inquisitor's Heretic Fork. This is a little wet and agressive, an offering to the season. After about ten minutes, the fire of the whiskey comes to the front, as well.

 

Overview- I'm glad my skin didn't automatically reject this out of hand. It is a slightly more subtle scent than i'm used to, but that's OK, the song of John Barleycorn isn't about clogging people's noses. I'm not sure about this one. I think i'll have to try it a few more times to get the feel of it. But it certainly doesn't hate me straight off, which is nice

 

=^..^=

[rayvn1]

This one was very strange on me! Wet I got Bubblegum just like Dymphna. I kept sniffing in disbelief and finally the Bubblegum dried out to be a sweet, dusky men's cologne. Very coppery on top with the barley dust in the background. Not too much liquor but I think the beer was blending in with the barley. Interesting, but I'm not sure yet if I need to hold onto this one. Scarecrow has a more prominent tall-grasses scent and the blood in Hessian of the Hollow suits me a bit better.

[Lumina]

In imp: Mmm, Whiskey! Not quite as smoky and oak-y as the Mad Sweeney (which was single note expensive woodsmoked booze on me - with an emphasis on the smouldery smokiness - and amped like all heck broke loose!) There's also plenty of barley and a smidgen of something tangy, almost coppery. If that's the blood accord, it's pretty darn good. Want it in more blends, please! *is a vegan with vamipiric urges*

 

On wrist, hair, and bosom ...I slathered!: Well, colour me surprised - this sweetens up quite a bit on the skin, compared to its in-the-imp smell. If anything I'd have expected it to go the way of the Sweeney and turn into intimidating alcoholic smog. But in fact I'm getting a slightly sweet barley musk, snifter on the side, and just the barest tantalizing waft of still-warm gore. <-- It's a good thing! It's a much gentler scent than I was expecting, with no harshness or aggression. My skin chem also seems to approve, since I'm still getting wafts a couple of hours after I put it on.

There's something captivating about this blend, a real sense of a story behind it. I'm getting, not images, but a wyrd feeling of actually being present in that story. It's a warm dark night almost at the end of the summer, the heat haze of the day has ebbed away, but the rich bare earth is still warm beneath my feet. The barleyfields reach up almost to the back porch, and a gentle breeze ripples the tops of the grasses. The night is full of ripeness and anticipation, and the barley is calling to me with whispers of foreboding...

 

Comments: You know, this is what I wanted Hellhound to smell like. Er, despite the fact that the listed notes are completely different *Still grumpy that the Hounds had to be unleashed, i.e. sent to new and better homes!* And seriously, I the blood accord! Also I'm really drawn to this blend as an inspirational scent; when I want to sit down and get a story written, I'll be reaching for John to whisper in my ear

 

Wear length: 4.1/5 The wear length is a little less than I'd like, but it's really not at all bad considering that a] my skin is the black hole of complete annihilation for a shocking number of scents, and b] that goes double at this particular time of the month, if you catch my drift.

 

Throw: 3.6/5 Teasing little wafts keep reminding me that I smell good!

 

Keep the imp? You're mine now, Johnny boy. All mine... forever!

 

Upgrade to a bottle? This is my top pick from the 'Weenies, and probably the only one I'll get a bottle of. More than just the one bottle, I should think.

[Nimthiriel]

Initial impression:

Something boozy – yes, it does mimic whiskey fairly well!

 

First on:

There is a strange sweetness to it, that might be the so-called blood.

 

Dry:

After about 10 mins, ithas become more balanced and well-rounded. It's barley and... wine?No, wine and beer. I swear that's not whiskey – it's red wine.

 

Another 30 mins later,it's a lovely boozy-but-down-to-earth scent. I'm loving this.

 

Finally:

Mmm, think I might keep this – against my better knowing...

[zankoku_zen]

Okay, so on application this smelled like beer and blood. And now as it has dried it smells like blood and powder.

 

Erm..

 

Just mildly freaked out here.

[Ajila]

In the bottle – I presume that it’s the barley, but I would say it smells like malt extract

 

Wet on me – A dark, thick scent, I can best describe as savoury treacle

 

Dry on me – A warm, hoppy scent

 

Overall – It’s very unusual; I’ve never come across anything like it in BPAL or elsewhere. It’s not an immediate love, but I feel it may grow on me

 

[kjirstiben]

This goes on with a strong beer and blood scent, but dries down stronger on blood than beer. It's a very pungent scent, and quite stable on my skin. As time goes on, it continues to be a slightly metallic, boozy and pungent smell, slightly sour, but intentionally sour (as opposed to sour because it went bad on my skin chemistry). Definitely appropriate to the concept--however, not really a scent I'm keen to project around me.

 

Recaplet: Metallic and boozy--beer and blood consistently.

My rating: 2 of 5 (Meh.)

Color impression: Dried blood red-brown.

[naeelah]

Fresh out of the imp, I really smell the whiskey. On skin, the booziness blends right in and it quickly develops into a gorgeous golden autumn blend.

 

All of the notes blend quite well. I can smell the whiskey, the beer, golden grass (the barley), and something like cherries (the blood). Together, though, it smells like the harvest.

 

First and foremost, this smells like barley. Golden and hay-like. I hate grassy notes, but I think this is fabulous. It's not weedy or dusty at all, just brilliant gold with a crisp undertone. The beer provides a sweet, boozy, slightly malty edge and a hint of sourness. It goes through a treacly stage, but as it wears, for me, the malt and sourness wear off and it blends seamlessly with the barley.

 

Behind the warm goldenness is a slightly cherry-like and slightly tangy blood note. I don't find it nearly as strong as in other blood blends, but I do smell the slightly metallic quality, which may be vetiver. Grassy vetiver, not barbecue vetiver. The blood note fades away slightly as the scent wears, for me, and leave barley and beer primarily. The initial fruitiness is long gone.

 

So, in short: golden grass with a beery edge and undertone of violence.

[Monster]

In the vial: Whew! caramel and BOOOZE!

 

Wet: An almost citrus smelling caramel note...maybe a bit like candy corn? Oh and did I mention BOOZE? I already like this a lot. I'm not detecting anything that would resemble "blood".

 

Dry: Welp! It's a morpher! This dries into a baby powder scent on me. Very strange! I can still smell a whiff of the caramel/candy corn note in the background but it's pretty much all powder.

 

Verdict: I wasn't expecting much out of this one...was pleasantly surprised in the "wet" stage. The "dry" stage just doesn't work on my unfortunatly. I did enjoy experiencing this scent though. It sure is interesting!

[Invidiana]

I know this has been a hit-or-miss for a lot of people, but for some reason it just works on my skin. The barley, beer and whiskey add up to rich, sunset-drenched golden fields ever so slightly boozed up and the blood accord, which I'm sure has dragon's blood (yesss) adds something of a hint of autumn berries on me. What I take is a notoriously fickle and uncooperative scent has found its match here!

[hmelt004]

I bought a bottle of this unsniffed because the price was right, and I'm really glad I did. Sweet and smooth and mellow, this reminds me of a cool beer outside in August, when summer is just turning into fall. The beer is probably TsingTao, my favorite, not a dark, earthy beer. There's golden, honeyed grain, and maybe a bit of the whisky from Kill-Devil. Just a little. And no scary blood for me.

[filigree_shadow]

It smells strange and powdery at first, but then mostly like "blood" with a sourness from the whiskey. There's a smoothness underneath it that reminds me of caramel... I guess that's the barley and beer part of it.

 

I have to admit that I kind of like it. The whiskey that's giving it a sour overtone is the only thing I don't like about it. The sweet smoothness is very appealing, but I'm just not fond of that whiskey scent. That does seem to go away over time, though, and what's left is a powdery sweet dragon's blood type of scent with an atypical smoothness beneath it.

 

Not bad at all.

[Poenari]

2008 version: Somehow I completely overlooked this decant in with all my other Halloween decants from 2008, so today is the first time I even tried it! It's very smooth, not overly boozy at all, and sweeter than I expected. I don't get a beer note at all. In fact, even though the notes are completely different, it smells almost identical to my 2005 Devil's Night. A sweet, musky scent with a little booze.

 

Now that it's too late to get a decant before the Weenies go down, I'm wondering if I should risk buying a bottle of the 2011 version just to put away and let it age. Based on the lack of reviews, if this turns out to age as well as the 2008, it will probably be hard to find later on.

[TrailerTrashPrincess]

this is the 2011 version.

sniffed from the bottle and wet on skin.... it smells oddly of the clean, fresh, new scent of still-wet latex paint.

yeah, i don't get it either.... but it does go through a whole hour or so of New House Smell. fresh woods, paint, drywall, new floors, etc. after that it settles into an almost-powdery, clean skin kind of scent.

 

this is one i never had much interest in, even though i love the smell of beer.... i was always afraid that the whiskey & blood would make it too strong and sour. but this is surprisingly wearable!

[Rshields]

Not sure how but this is reminiscent of "Irish Spring", or another cheap grocery store bar soap. In the vial it smells a bit more interesting, on my skin this morphs into a major flop: a somewhat geriatric soap/aftershave/perfume product. This is not working out,hah.

[Incendiare]

2011: I expected this to be gross, with the blood and barley and all. In the vial, it's not really that bad. There is something black liquoricey about this though. Like salty black liquorice, and behind that, frothy hoppy beer. On me, it's not much different. After a couple minutes, there's an unexplainable underlying floral. At first I thought it was lilac but I waited a couple more minutes and it's more prominently Dragon's Blood resin, if that's possible. That note is still buried underneath the saltiness liquorice I get from this. Together, they make final outcome a little on the so-called masculine side. It evokes images of leather work boots traipsing through a field.

[angelmecha]

2011

 

 

In Imp: A cloyingly sweet whiskey- like SoCo. I can kind of pick out the barley; overall it's just really sweet and boozy in the imp.

Wet: Wow! It morphed into a much more beer-like scent on my arm. The barley grain is stronger. It's like a really strong, warm beer bread.

Drydown: I'm getting a sweet incense from it now?? What is that? Maybe blood? (I could vaguely see it being just a tiny trickle of Dragon's blood?) Hmm. I'm fairly sure it *is* dragons blood that I'm smelling. It's living next to my (now warm and flat) beer and I've got my SoCo shot probably sitting in the bottom of the glass of beer. Like a crazy Barleycarbomb. If it helps anyone mentally envision this scent, it's definitely a flat, dark malt beer. And SoCo.

Verdict: What an interesting scent! It's not something I think I'd reach for, though. There's just something about that resinous note that puts me off. As so often happens with me, this isn't a *bad* scent by any means, it's just not for me... Maybe a 2.5/5? (Between "sometimes" and "promising"... I may try it sometime and see how it fares, but as of right now I don't need to run out and buy a bottle.)

[edenssixthday]

John Barleycorn - I generally like BPAL's beer scents -- their warm hoppiness is awesome. But this one is a HYOOGE exception. It smells like urine. It smells like the carpet in someone's basement that has had old, stale, dog urine sitting in it for years. It's awful. It's really, really horrible.

[thekittenkat]

This review is for the 2011 version.

 

In the decant: All the notes!

 

Wet: Very beery.

 

The dry-down: There's a hint of barley (a sort of yeasty note) and that metallic copper tang of blood seeping through now. The sweetness of the whiskey tames the beer. However, like all perfume oils with alcohol notes, I probably wouldn't wear this whilst driving.