Chocolate Ginger

Chocolate Ginger does not try to be clever about its name - it delivers precisely what it promises. Ginger leads the opening, spicy and a little sharp, paired closely with warming nutmeg so the two read as one bright, zingy accord rather than two separate spices fighting for attention. As it settles, sandalwood and hazelnut soften the spice into something rounder and creamier, with coffee adding a roasted depth that keeps the whole thing from tipping into pure sweetness. The base is where the name's other half takes over: a smooth, praline-like chocolate, thickened with tonka bean, vanilla, labdanum and amber woods into a warm, resinous, thoroughly gourmand finish. It reads less like a chocolate bar and more like dessert eaten slowly - chocolate poured over ginger cookies is the comparison that keeps coming up, and it is an accurate one. This is a rich, generous composition rather than a light one, built to be worn close and savoured. It suits cold-weather, cosy-indoor wear far more than a bright summer's day, and its dense, spicy-sweet character makes it a better fit for evenings in than office mornings. It began life as one entry in a limited-run sampler box before earning a place in the wider range, and it sits at the most unapologetically gourmand end of 4160 Tuesdays' catalogue - built for people who want their perfume to smell genuinely good enough to eat.