Best perfumes with boozy notes for an intoxicating scent

As you’d expect from a cult brand known for rebellious messaging and pushing gourmand to its limits via overdoses of boozy and animalic notes, this unisex scent makes an instant and intense impact.

Imagine warming up near a roaring bonfire whilst sipping from a flask filled with hot toddy and you’re there. There’s a triple whammy of alcoholic notes at the top, namely juniper for the sharp gin twist, sweet and syrupy rum, plus the liqueur Campari, which is slightly bitter but also adds spiciness from clove and cinnamon.

As it dries down, a heady whisky note in the heart mixes with smoke and peat in the base, creating a dry, woody and warm scent they aptly refer to as ‘Love around the campfire’.

If you’re new to Vyrao, they are an intriguing collection of genderless fragrances aimed at improving energy and well-being through scent, colour, crystals and neuroscience-based blends. Each created by a world-renowned perfumer, the latest, Mamajuju has been crafted to encourage a sense of being grounded and connected to the earth.

This is done using notes of relaxing nutmeg, uplifting saffron, grounding vetiver and soothing sandalwood oil across the top and base notes, but it’s the warming and comforting rum absolute that fuses them together through the heart. A cosy, comforting, sensual hug in a bottle.

Absinthe may have been the choice of drink (and downfall) for many early 20th century Parisian artists as it was said to induce euphoria and hallucinations, but the herby element it adds to this overwise soft, sophisticated, leathery blend lets the perfume open with a sparkly, refreshing and energising kick.

It’s also got a woody and sweet side too, ensuring the absinthe mingles beautifully with resinous cedarwood, earthy and grassy cypriol root, plus smoky patchouli.

As a brand hand-crafting perfumes with minimal, high-quality ingredients and an eco-conscious outlook, refills cost a whopping £30 less if you bring your bottle back to the store, while the hefty at-home refill bottle that can be ordered online offers a great saving too – ideal if this is your new signature scent.

Inspired by founder Jo Malone’s love of horse riding in Montana during summer visits, this vegan perfume captures the aromas of saddle leather under the hot sun, plus the combination of a log fire and glass of plum liquor that round off the day’s outdoor activities.

The dry woodiness of cedar and ambery, resinous ciste labdanum are teamed with aromatic spices cardamom and cinnamon to make a bold, enveloping scent. But it’s the addition of sharp, sweet plum and caramelly aged cognac (being more refined and rounded than a non-aged vintage) that cuts through the smokiness to make sure the perfume is still earthy but also beautifully elegant.

‘Whisky blended with mischief’ is how British heritage perfumery Penhaligon’s characterise this addictively unctuous scent that will whisk you to dark, decadent jazz clubs populated by the fashionable Bright Young Things of the 1920s. See the sumptuous vintage packaging if you need further inspiration.

Daring and sensual, it’s packed with woody, warm and sweet notes driven by a barrel-blended whiskey accord that runs dominantly through the heart and is rounded out by juicy raspberry and bergamot plus musky cedar. The perfect all-night dancing partner with lasting allure.

Combining the luxury of French perfumery with the simplicity of centring each fragrance around three keynotes, Bon Parfumeur’s extensive library of offerings includes a ‘santé!’ to gin & tonic, inspired by Van Gogh’s Café Terrace at Night and spending summer evenings drinking and smoking on Parisian terraces.

The trio here is gin, mandarin and musk. A refreshing gin hit from juniper berries gives sparkle and crispness; bergamot and lemon also give a citrus twist alongside mandarin; and vanilla and musk notes swirl together to create a tobacco note. If you want to evoke clean, elegant and effervescent, make this your boozy scent.

Classed as a fruity amber fragrance, there’s a wealth of mouthwatering notes packed into this luscious scent that’s as evocative and provocative as its inspiration, the Pigalle district of Paris, renowned for cabaret and burlesque nightclubs.

Although it’s the sweet and sour cherry note that comes through first along with juicy mandarin and zingy pink peppercorn, there’s nutty tonka bean and a creamy milk accord to follow, before woods and oud make the fragrance even bigger and bolder. But Martinican rum extract, taken from a unique fresh-pressed sugarcane rum found in Martinique, really infuses the base with a deep earthy and grassy finish that will linger well into the night.

Ok, beer isn’t a spirit but humour me as lager is the unusual and refreshing alcohol note in this clean, vegan fragrance. Drawing on Barcelona’s vibrant electronic music festival, Sónar, it fizzes with energy and has been cleverly blended to take you from a bright and beachy daytime party through to a darker and more intense experience as night falls.

Uplifting Italian bergamot and pink pepper are the opening act, before accords of burnt rubber and beer evoke electrical cables and the zesty, malty aroma of a beach bar, giving the note of tuberose they fuse with a drier and lighter twist. Add creamy vanilla and warming woods through the bass to close, and this unisex scent is as intriguing as it is addictive.

Gourmand by name and gourmand by nature, almost every note in this delicious fragrance will have you yearning for a trip to the patisserie followed by late-night cocktails in a stylish speakeasy.

Rum is one of three sweet and succulent top notes - the others being fig and honey - that set the fragrant scene as warm, juicy and syrupy. But it’s the boozy element that cuts through any sugary overkill. Dark chocolate, malted milk and tonka bean in the heart add a rich, toasted and subtly bitter layer, before patchouli, amber and vanilla mix together to round off the perfume with a cosy and sensuous ending that leaves you on a calorie-free high.

There’s a crisp, mineral-like element to this perfume that comes from the intense amount of musky ambroxan blended with green jasmine. It’s also mirrored in the gin and tonic accord that makes the most of sharp juniper berries, plus the addition of an Austrian lemonade, each of which brings a fizzy quality to this light, easy-to-wear spritz.

Clary sage and lime ensure there’s a clean green twist too, as if you’re squeezing the citrus fruit into your five o’clock tipple. Escentric Molecules is a trailblazer in its modern approach to perfumery and this innovative take on that very classic spirit-and-mixer combination makes something that could lack depth in lesser hands smell complex and sophisticated.