Black Wood, Not Blackwood

“Great revelations of nature, of course, never fail to impress in one way or another, and I was no stranger to moods of the kind. Mountains overawe and oceans terrify, while the mystery of great forests exercises a spell peculiarly its own. But all these, at one point or another, somewhere link on intimately with human life and human experience. They stir comprehensible, even if alarming, emotions. They tend on the whole to exalt.”

- Algernon Blackwood, “The Willows”

Algernon Blackwood is my favorite horror writer, so “Black Wood” by Uttori spoke to me immediately. The notes of cedar, hinoki, moss, tobacco, saffron, black tea, are all things I love. Unlike Blackwood’s The Willows, there is no horror here; no darkness lurking in the quiet depths of the forest or indescribable terror waiting for you to float further down the river. It’s more like a soft rain while meditating or a warm smile from a stranger. Black Wood is a cup of black tea among the trees with bergamot, orange blossoms, vetiver, moss, and tobacco wafting past in the gentle breeze.

I think I’ll be wearing this one a lot.