Bleecker Street is the 24th and most recent in Bond no. 9's series of perfumes celebrating famous neighborhoods in New York City. Bleecker Street is a fashionable shopping destination in the West Village, and also the location of the newest Bond no. 9 boutique. The fragrance was created by perfumer David Apel and features notes of violet leaf, cassis, thyme, jasmine, cedar, cinnamon, oakmoss, suede, patchouli, amber and vanilla.

Early reports that the Bleecker Street fragrance would pay tribute to the Magnolia Bakery (initially famous for their cupcakes, now famous for being featured on Sex & the City) down the street led me to assume that it would be a sweet, dessert-like gourmand. That is not quite what it turns out to be. Bond no. 9 is calling it a "woody gourmand oriental", which is somewhat closer to the mark.

Bleecker Street starts very green and herbal, with perhaps a touch of bergamot. The wood undertones are immediately apparent, but for the most part the thyme has the stage and it does not relinquish its position until far into the drydown. If you pay close attention, you will catch the cinnamon, and early on I smelled a very slight hint of caramelized vanilla, but the main feature of the mid-notes is a strong "fresh" accord, something vaguely marine or ozonic.

The dry down is woody-earthy-mossy. It is very well-blended and smooth, and no particular note stands out. It stays very fresh, and despite the gourmand notes, it does not have an edible vibe, nor is it at all sweet. I find it too fresh to appeal to me personally; fans of Bond's Wall Street or Hamptons fragrances might find it more to their taste. My favorite from this line is still Eau de New York, although I would readily concede that Chinatown is the most interesting and captivating fragrance Bond has released to date.

Bleecker Street is a unisex fragrance, and is available in 50 and 100 ml bottles of Eau de Parfum. As with all the Bond no. 9 fragrances, the lasting power is excellent, and the bottle, designed by artist Rachel Katz, is stunning.

For buying information, see the listing for Bond no. 9 under Perfume Houses.

Related review: Bond no. 9 New Haarlem