BPAL Test Drive: Miskatonic University

Irish Coffee (green tones)

Miskatonic University, from A Picnic in Arkham
Tested 4 March 2008

A venerable New England university, whose vast library holds many rare, diabolical and obscure arcane works, including one of the few surviving legitimate copies of the Necronomicon. Home to innumerable scholars of the esoteric and the occult, and the notorious Dr. Herbert West.

The scent of Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls.

I popped off the imp's cap and was greeted by the aroma of very, very boozy coffee. It smelled more like coffee and liqueur than coffee and proper Irish whiskey, though.

I was eager to put this one on, and I thought my excitement was justified when I caught the first whiff of creamy coffee. Much to my dismay, it morphed rapidly to... dust. The cofee was still present underneath, if rather Play-doh-esque when I held my nose very close to sniff, but the dreaded Doh wasn't as apparent from further off.

Time went on... Eurgh. Dusty Play-doh. There was a kind of sugary, creamy coffee underneath, but the dust note made me feel a little ill. An hour or so later, it was getting creamier on my wrists, but the dust continued to dominate in the crook of my elbow. Then the sweetness decided to take a sharp increase. I kept wishing the dust note would disappear entirely.

When M got home and took a sniff, he thought he was smelling a candy shop. A sadly dilapidated and dusty candy shop. "This would be a lot better without the dust," he said, "which is a shame, because the Irish coffee is excellent."

Just goes to show that you never know until you try, because this was one of the ones I was most excited about based on the description. I mean, coffee and a library filled with old books? Yes, please. Unfortunately, it seems my skin has no desire to smell like such a delightful place. I don't think I'll be matriculating at Misk U.