Quintessentially Poison! The richness, the darkness, the plummy liquor one finds in the vintage edt, here it is amplified by the animalic castoreum or civet, or both, to new heights. This is in perfume form (pardon my language) the best f**k you’ll get, leaving you wanting more and more. I always thought that the edt was enough, and god knows I have enough vintage bottles of it to last me until 2967, but an unexpected surprise came in the form of a cute little 15 ml Esprit and soon I was buying the only 50 ml Esprit that I could find on evilbay. Man this is a stunner. My only fear is running out, or worse, thinking the edt is not good enough. Dumb fears I know, but once you get the thick taste of it, everything else seems inferior. Luckily, the sillage is out of this world potent even when dabbed so I hope it will last long enough to probably outlive me. If the edt takes the plummiest and booziest tuberose to new heights, the Esprit introduces the heliotrope, which now sings clearly, the ambery resins that stick to skin like molasses, the fiery redhead bestie of Poison, miss carnation, and their pets, most likely a castor named Hulk and a civet named Priscila. If you thought the edt was suffocating enough, which I happen to love, the Esprit is the heavyweight champ. But the main difference is the 4K definition of notes. Every wearing is different but Poison takes its time to introduce every note to you, sometimes all at once and sometimes one by one. Here you can see the complexity and smell it, see how every note plays out to something greater that the sum, all the while with incredible finesse. Brutal strength, but elegance. I really feel the Esprit is the one every Poison worshipper should own, and at the same time the one that can really show what Poison is all about to anyone interested in this 1985 beauty. The spices never let the tuberose completely take over, while the honey and plums engulf it like the finest Bordeaux. For all it’s detractors, it’s overuse or abuse in the 80’s, there’s a person that adores her, and there’s no denying that there aren’t beauties like this made today. The quality is obvious in the fact that 30 years later, well cared bottles smell absolutely gorgeous, there are scents directly inspired by Poison (Loretta is one, Tubereuse Animale 3 is another) and even today it elicits strong feelings in people, even if said people are mostly perfumistas. Regular folks have left her behind, along the other beauties of the decade, closing the door to excess and welcoming minimalism. In this context, Poison wouldn’t make it, there’s too much in that deep purple-almost-black bottle that most would feel uncomfortable. I don’t believe in signature scents, but Poison Esprit is me. And if I’m ever remembered for my scent, I want to be the guy that reeked of Poison, and absolutely rocked it!