A scent can be worth a thousand words.
Here in the Hamptons the salty ocean air serves as a powerful, year-round reminder of our natural surroundings, something Amagansett resident and entrepreneur Andrew Rose — who spent his summers growing up visiting Montauk — has noticed for years.
Last month, on June 8, Rose launched his new fragrance house Montauk Man, which pays homage to The End’s unique landscape he’s loved since his childhood and all the scents that he thinks go with it.
“This all started from my love for the landscape,” Rose says. “I grew up out here and in South Florida. I was living out here for a few winters,” a time when he ultimately experienced Montauk’s most raw and quiet state. “I’ve always loved Montauk. Montauk’s my favorite place on the planet, and I love perfumery. And I thought there’s so much storytelling to be had in perfume. Montauk, to me, evokes such romanticism and imagery. I love the history, the artists that used to go out to Montauk and still do.”
It’s what inspired him a few years ago to create a visual pitch deck of his favorite artists of Montauk juxtaposed with his favorite perfumes in the world. “I kind of built up this imaginary world in my head,” he says. Rose then began working alongside master perfurmers Rodrigo Flores-Rous (of Tom Ford, Clinique, John Varvatos, Docle & Gabbana and Calvin Klein fame) and Antoine Maisondieu of Givaudan (whose accolades include creating fragrances for Armani, Tom Ford, Prada and Burberry) to develop four distinctive scents that feel refined, sensual and deeply personal, all while keeping the effortlessly cool, off-season state of Montauk as the central focus.
“I think Montauk is so well known now in the world, but it’s almost known more for this summery vacation world, and I see it more in this rustic, almost lonely romanticism, misty, mystical place to be,” Rose says. “I almost find Montauk to be eerie in a beautiful way. When the fog rolls in and you see it kind of just roll into town and the temperature drops and it’s almost doesn’t look too even approachable. It’s very whimsical to me, and I just thought there were so many fun elements about it that we could play with as a brand, from not just the place but even the individual. That’s where the man also came in. Of building up this imagery of this place that’s very to me nonchalant and it’s cool and collected, mysterious, and to build that kind of world, that imagery into fragrances.”
Made in New York, the collection includes four fragrances, each available in a 90 mL bottle for $350. Together, the fragrances are designed as a scent wardrobe, offering different compositions for a range of occasions, seasons and moods. Contrary to what the name implies, all fragrances are unisex.
Signature scents include Rough Riders, named after Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders and draws inspiration from the volunteer cavalry’s landing in Montauk following the Spanish-American War. The fragrance features notes of pineapple, tobacco and sandalwood. Twice Light is inspired by the double illumination of sky and sea, blending airy notes of bergamot, neroli and orange flower. North Bar is for Montauk’s northern shoreline, concerning elements of sand and stone combines with notes of saffron, black leather and dark oud. Amber Boom is inspired by the changes between light and shadow, particularly as dusk descends, and features notes of black cherry, rose and tonka bean.
The Montauk Man debut collection is officially available now directly online here and in-store at Violet Grey in East Hampton, Hank in Bridgehampton, Wyld Blue in Montauk and Gurney’s in Montauk.
