New Niche Fragrance Review: Bond No. 9 Manhattan + 10 BonBon Draw

Photo by Dave Kliman

For the last four years it seems the Bond No. 9 release timed to come out in the fall has been my favorite from the house for that given year. Last year’s Andy Warhol by Bond No. 9 was my favorite Bond No. 9 fragrance for the last few years. When I attended the Elements Showcase in August the Bond No. 9 booth was my first stop and the first strip I smelled was the new release Manhattan. I would sniff that strip a lot over the next two days and patiently waited for a sample so I could wear it. Once I had the chance to wear it I actually found it much more expansive on my skin than on the strip and another fall winner from Bond No. 9.

Laurice Rahme tapped Claude Dir to be the perfumer for Manhattan and it was he who started this run of my love of the Bond No. 9 fall releases with 2009’s Success Is A Job In New York. For Manhattan M. Dir created a spicy oriental homage to the City That Never Sleeps. By using a spicy top it transitions into a fruity gourmand heart and ends sweetly woody. This is an energetic yet comforting fragrance and I have found it to be equally good on a hot day and in the early chill of a fall day.

M. Dir’s opening gambit is nutmeg, coriander and most especially saffron. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the number of perfumers who have been using saffron in increasing quantities to excellent effect. M. Dir uses the exotic quality to raise the profile of both the nutmeg and coriander. Peach and plum add a luscious fruity accord which is matched with a rich gourmand accord consisting of gingerbread with a bit of chocolate. On the strip it was all fruit and gourmand but once I wore this on my skin up popped a beautiful jasmine which somehow fits better than I might’ve thought. The base notes are sandalwood, patchouli, and vanilla. They combine to pick up on the sweeter facets of the heart and add some depth to that character for the final stages of development.

Manhattan has outstanding longevity and above average sillage.

I think I’m going to have to start adding something new to my signs of fall approaching from now on. Shorter days, lower temperatures, leaves changing color, and a new favorite Bond No. 9 to add to my collection.

Disclosure: This review was based on a press sample provided by Bond No. 9.

Thanks to Bond No. 9 we have 10 BonBons of Manhattan to giveaway to 10 winners. To be eligible leave a comment on your favorite thing about Manhattan or your favorite Bond No. 9 fragrance. We will draw 10 winners on September 30, 2012.

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

-Mark Behnke, Managing Editor

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66 comments

  • My favorite thing about Manhattan is that there’s something new to discover every time I’m there — usually many new and pleasing things!

  • Smells like a winner
    My favorite bond no 9 is new Haarlem and I love manhattan for the gazillions of little ethnic restaurants I mean where else besides sengal can you find authentic Senegalese cuisine
    Harlem African kine on 116 th street in case you are wondering

  • My favorite Bond has to be NY Oud. There’s something about the plum note that just elevates it, giving it a nice tartness not found in other fragrances.

  • My favorite thing about Manhattan is that you can get anything delivered at any hour of the day or night
    I guess my favorite Bond No 9 is Chinatown

  • I have yet to be able to try any Bonds and I have never been to NY, but I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to try Manhattan!

  • Sorry -don’t enter me for this draw. I would like to point out that Bond No.9 as a company are facing charges of racial discrimination and unfair dismissal concerning two employees, I do not think you should be promoting them until this matter is cleared. There are plenty of references to the law suit online if you search. I certainly will never spend any of my free income on these products after reading how Ms Rahme racially profiled customers and barred her non-white staff from serving white customers in a manner reminiscent of shameful history of the Southern States.

  • I love how friendly the people are! And that you can walk the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn and back to Manhattan on the Brooklyn — one of my favourite things to do when I visit, aside from all the great shopping, of course. 🙂 Thanks for the draw!

  • Stephen
    This is a fragrance review
    You have commented about this subject on our blog before and we respect you as a reader and as discussed before incendiary comments are not welcome here

  • Manhattan- the first thought is Leonard Cohen’s first we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin, However i know the song does not mean this but that’s how I see it, so Leonard, come on board my train! Manhattan has always echoed music, underground and Velvet, innovative but above all meaningful. Art as in Andy plus Warhol. Fashion steps up and their icons like Zelda Kaplan even die at the Runway Shows! Enter the summer of 1969, and the New York gay activist movement was born when a group made a stand against raiding police officers at The Stonewall Inn. Manhattan, an inspiring American icon.

  • I’m going to visit Manhattan next year, so I’m pretty excited and really curious about what people like best about Manhattan.

  • I so much want to visit Manhattan!! Hope I’ll be able to one day! From Bond no.9 my favorite is Chinatown!!!

  • My favorite thing about Manhattan is Chelsea Market where
    the Food Network is located!
    My favorite Bond No. 9 fragrance is Lexington Ave.
    Thanks for the draw!

  • Holly Schwartz Mahler says:

    I love Manhattan in every season, but especially in the fall. My favorite day would be to stroll around the West Village, have brunch, and then walk to the Highline. From there, one can see the gorgeous river and my home state of NJ. The trees on the Fort Lee cliffs are beautiful in the fall! And I would be wearing Manhattan, of course!!

  • My favorite thing about Manhattan is that, when you’re walking aroung there, it gives you the feeling that you are on top of the world.

  • My favorite Bond scent is Andy Warhol Silver Factory, but I’m also fond of New Haarlem. Thanks for the draw!

  • My favorite Bond No. 9 is Brooklyn; my favorite thing about Manhattan…ONE THING? Just ONE? Okay, Zabar’s.

  • I like the fact that Manhattan is compact enough to get anywhere and everywhere on foot. There’s always something interesting going on, and something new to discover. I think my favorite of the Bonds I’ve tried is Chinatown.

  • Manhattan is wonderful ! The memory of the glass canyon of shining skyscrapers will remain forever in my heart!

  • I have found so many reasons to fall in love with Manhattan, the greatest of which is the people. I absolutely adore New Yorkers. NY is a melting pot of the entire world living together harmoniously on a little island. They are open and interested in people and cultures. They always have an eye outward, a palpable connection to the rest of the world. And so many have left their families to come here that I think it creates a reliance on each other. I also love that I don’t need a car!

  • My favorite Bonds are Nuits de Noho and Success is a Job in NY. By the way, don’t enter me in the draw. I can pick up a bonbon at Bond.

  • I love the theater in Manhattan. And as a visitor, the hustle & bustle is cool…I don’t know if I’d love it everyday.

  • I’ve never been to Manhattan(though I’d love to!) & I haven’t yet had the chance to try a Bond fragrance.

  • I have never been to Manhattan ( or US), I still have hopes to visit one day..
    My favorite is ” Nuit de Noho” ( a gift from the lovely Ari)
    thanks for the draw

  • Chinatown was the perfume that started my perfume addiction journey! It is also the first time reviews sentence in search of what was at that time a difficult to find perfume. I still lovenit.

  • I knew there was a reason I loved this fragrance, and now I know what it is – Claude Dir! I am a huge fan of Dirty English, and a tea fragrance he did, and this just fits right in with those. I love a variety of Bonds, and my favorite shifts, but right now it’s definitely Manhattan. Looking forward to getting a bottle very soon.

    Glad to see that Mark likes it too! 🙂

  • My favorite Bond 9 is a tie between Silver Factory and New Haarlem, which both smell great in the fall.

  • Great review, Mark. I have to admit that I haven’t tried that many Bonds, but Manhattan I do have a decant of. I have been gifted some bonds that have notes that I like so we will see which will be a favorite.

  • I was in Saks the other day and Manhattan was a pleasant surprise. My favorite Bond’s are AW Silver Factory, New Haarlem, and Fire
    Island. Plus the bottle on this is beautiful.

  • I like Success is A Job in New York, and I’ve read that this has similar qualities. I’d love the chance to try it.

  • My favorite thing about Manhattan is that anytime you are in Times Square there are hundreds of people there, and the place changes everyday with new lights, adverts… It’s always a surprise.

    Thanks for the draw!