Thread: To Hoyt's or not to Hoyt's

To Hoyt's or not to Hoyt's. And that, indeed, is the question.

I had heard so much about Hoyt's Cologne as being one of the great old-fashioned fragrance waters, and a sweet reminder of old-time barbershops. Now, there goes a culture that brings back warm memories, especially of one of the old barbers who cut my hair (when I sported some) while he sang famous operatic arias. Verdi, Puccini, Bellini and all the other great Italian operatic composers loaded his repertoire with singing jewels.

Occasionally he stopped cutting and swept the hand that operated the scissors across the air as he belted out a high-C. It scared the hell out of me.

So all the comments about Hoyt's Cologne — of how it reminded men of their old barbershops, of WWII GIs missing home, of some of its magical tendencies, and so on — cranked up my passion for this ethereal fragrance. The poetic descriptions of it drew a picture of what I perceived as an exquisite garden of exotic flowers. Finally I succumbed to Hoyt's allure and ordered a 5-oz. bottle online. The cologne was inexpensive, but the postage cost me a fortune. And then I awaited the perfumed gold's arrival with great anticipation.

It came. I ripped open the package. Uncscrewed the cap. Closed my eyes and sniffed. What? I opened my eyes and sniffed again. I frowned. I poured a few drops in my palm, rubbed my hands together, and gently slapped this reputed magical potion to my face. What on earth . . .?

What I smelled was a dull hint of what might have been a garden at one time. At least I thought I smelled something. Now, I know smell is a totally objective sense. We perceive smells differently. I am sure Hoyt's Cologne has a long parade of fans, new and old, and that's fine. Who am I to criticize another's tastes? Nor do I consider my tastes superior to those of others.

I am sorry to say that all Hoyt's Cologne gave me was a headscratch and a kick in the tokhus for having wasted my money.

Being an Anglophile, I lean toward English-made aftershaves: Truefitt & Hill's Spanish Leather, Trumper's Spanish Leather, Woods of Windsor, several delights from Taylor of Old Bond Street, and others. In addition, I favor Germany's Tabac, Italy's Proraso, and the good old Clubman by Pinaud, which I buy from the local pharmacy. I am sure a number of shavers might find some of these products disgusting. That's all right. I don't mind.

All of which wasn't much help: I was stuck with a 5-oz. bottle of Hoyt's Cologne.

Now what to do? Since I blend my own coffees and black teas for my daily consumption, I thought I would try to justify the money spent by trying to save my little bottle of Hoyt's, which was growing heavier in weight by the moment. I mixed it with Pinaud's Clubman, unfortunately without testing proportions, and came up with a smell that seemed lost in a cave.

Suddenly I had a 10-oz bottle of mystery I didn't know what to do with. I asked my wife to smell it. She did. Nodded. And shuffled away, saying, "Spicy." It was her kind way of saying, "It stinks."

It's been a month or so since Hoyt's grand entrance into my life, but suddenly I am finding a sentimental attachment to my fragrant potio- gone-astray. Dumping it into the sink is out of the question — I am thinking green. Or I could make a present of it to someone I don't like, but then, for me, taking people for what they are eliminates the absolute need to like or dislike them.

Maybe I'll keep my confused aftershave on the shelf as a reminder of an old-time barbershop from Mars.

Regards,

Obie

It's a shame that some things don't stay the same as we remember them. Change of company ownership or management, cheapening of ingredients and dare I say it, even our sense of taste and smell changes with age.I was interested to see Wood's of Windsor mentioned. I grew up close to Windsor. Wood's Pharmacy used to be a large dispensing chemist where you could go to get prescriptions filled and buy all manner of things. I notice that it's turned into a scent shop.

Hello, Welshwizard,

Yes, some things do not stay as we remember them. A case in point for you, indeed, must be Woods Pharmacy and how it has changed to a scent shop.

By the way, have you tried Woods of Windsor aftershave? I find the fragrance clean and refreshing. Of course, I am partial to Spanish Leather, and Woods of Windsor gives a good hint of it. Years ago I discovered it by chance here in America, and have used it regularly since.

Four years ago, while visiting Colorado, I found 11 bottles of it at only $10 a pop. I bought all. Today, the aftershave costs twice as much, if not more, and it is a little hard to find sometimes.

Woods of Windsor is a classic. I don't know the history of it, but I would expect Charles Dickens to wear something like that. Most of all, my wife loves it, so that makes Woods of Windsor even more special for me.

Regards,

Obie

Know this is an old thread, but just got around to trying Hoyt's.
Most often, I find myself at a loss for words when it comes to describing a fragrance.
Also, often find other people's descriptions are far from what I experience for a product.
That said, I absolutely love Hoyt's.
Vaguely citrus and floral, but not in any way sweet or feminine.
Kind of like a poor-man's, domestic Alvarez Gomez.
Definitely going to stay in my rotation.
(Also, +1 to all of the Spanish Leathers!)

To paraphrase Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind (another thread that covered 6+ years):
"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a Hoyt...".


B.


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