Bitter Rose, Broken Spear

Bitter Rose, Broken Spear opens with a peppery snap—cubeb and thyme collide with the char of ember, immediately raw and botanical. The heart yields a spiced rose, nutmeg warming the petals while thistle adds a dry, almost bristling edge that refuses sweetness. As it settles, amber and larch ground the composition in woody smoke, with hot iron lending a metallic sting that lingers like the scent of forged steel cooling. There's nothing soft here—only a restless, thorned beauty.