James Suckling

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Perfume to Politics

Posted: 04:51 PM ET, July 23, 2007

I was at a big dinner on the Tuscan coast in honor of the American Ambassador for Italy over the weekend. About 40 or us were fêting the friendly and very professional diplomat, and by the end of the meal as we sat outside next to an illuminated pool, a few of us lit up some cigars. At my table of about 10 people, a friend and I were smoking Ramon Allones Specially Selected, the rich and wonderful Cuban robusto. Other tables had some Cohiba Robustos glowing.

Anyway, I overheard my friend speaking to the host of the party, a beautiful leggy brunette. He was commenting on how he could smell her perfume across the table. I think he was being a bit derogatory about it. He’s a wine producer and he gets rather pissed off when pungent women are in his presence and he is trying to enjoy his wine.

If I am seriously tasting wine, I see his point. But at a chic dinner, or just about any other time for that matter, a beautiful woman with beautiful perfume only enhances the whole experience.

I heard her say to my buddy, "What can you smell with that cigar going?"

“I promise you that I can smell your perfume,” he said. “And I prefer the smell of my cigar to what it is.”

I thought that the whole thing was getting a little out of hand. So I interjected, "I have a cigar as well. Let me see what perfume you are
wearing," as I raised my nose and gave a sniff across the table. "You smell like roses!"

"You’re right," she said with a big smile. "It’s Absolute Rose from Annick Goutal."

The table went quite for a second and then the conversation changed from perfume to politics.

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