Imaginary Authors — Blend No. 83
Essence
Blend No. 83 is Imaginary Authors’ espresso-martini fragrance, made with Absolut and Kahlua as a limited edition. The name points to 1983, the year the cocktail was invented. The surprise is that the scent is not just sweet coffee liqueur. It is dry, bitter-edged, and grown-up: dark coffee, chocolate, rum, musk, and benzoin with a warm, slightly leathery barroom atmosphere.
Scent Profile
The opening is all espresso-martini impact: robust arabica coffee, dark chocolate, and a sugar-cane-rum lift. It reads photorealistic without becoming syrupy. Within minutes, the coffee pulls back and the fragrance becomes drier, woodier, and more textural. Benzoin gives balsamic warmth, while the listed foam and night musk suggest a dark, velvety base. The result is less dessert counter and more dim cocktail room: bitter cocoa, coffee residue, and a warm sweater after the first sip.
Performance
For Imaginary Authors, this is a strong performer. Wearers often describe it as one of the house’s more projecting and longer-lasting scents, though reports vary from moderate to very strong. The practical expectation is a noticeable early aura and a lasting coffee-chocolate trace, especially in cool weather.
Wearing Context
Blend No. 83 belongs to cold evenings, bars, parties, date nights, and holiday weather. It is unisex but decadent, with enough bitterness and woodiness to avoid a sugary dessert profile. Daytime wear is possible if applied lightly, but the cocktail density makes it feel most natural after dark.
Comparisons & DNA
The closest in-house comparison is Dipped in Chocolate, but the two move differently. Dipped in Chocolate is fuller, sweeter, and more spiced; Blend No. 83 is drier, boozier, and more atmospheric. A useful outside reference is Kerosene Follow, though Blend No. 83 feels less gourmand and more cocktail-woody. The discontinued status has also made similar coffee-booze scents and dupes part of the conversation around it.
Reception
Reception is strongly positive with a meaningful dissenting edge. Fans praise the espresso-martini realism, the dry coffee-chocolate balance, and the above-average performance for the house. Detractors tend to get ash, cardboard, burnt espresso, or a synthetic bite in the drydown. That split makes it less universally safe than its concept sounds, but also more interesting than a simple sweet coffee perfume.
Versions & Reformulation
A single 2023 limited-edition EDP, now discontinued, with no known reformulations. The main version distinction is packaging: some early orders involved a cocktail-coupe-style bonus item, while the fragrance itself remained the standard limited release.
Acquisition Notes
It is out of production, so decants, splits, and the secondary market are the realistic routes. Because the drydown divides wearers, sampling matters. Blind buying a scarce bottle is risky unless the wearer already likes dry coffee, bitter chocolate, and boozy gourmands.
Notable Facts & Lore
- The collaboration bent the fictional-book conceit around a real cocktail origin story.
- Its name references the 1983 origin of the Espresso Martini.
- It joined Imaginary Authors with Absolut and Kahlua.