SALMIAKKI – the Finnish gourmand

In our client work, we receive a fair few requests for gourmand fragrance developments. Neither of us wear gourmands, but we love a challenge. So when the opportunity presented itself for us to create our own gourmand, it was never going to smell like cakes and pastries. However, we do both love fragrances made with myrrh, anise and liquorice – and as a long-time friend and business partner to a Finn (Pia), I can say with some authority that they LOVE salmiakki.

Salmiakki is a salted liquorice – made with sal ammoniac, aka ‘salmiak’. It is, without a doubt, a challenging flavour if you have not grown up on it. Pia’s salmiakki of choice is by Fazer. Mine is ‘no thank you’ – I much prefer the scent to the flavour of liquorice, and have never really been a fan of eating it.

Pia had originally created a salmiakki accord as part of Fume, her anti-war chapter in Demo Accords. There, it sits amongst leather, olive absolute, immortelle and smoke.

In SALMIAKKI, she chose to make it the star of the show rather than an accent to the formula.

20% of the formula for SALMIAKKI is myrrh – adding longevity, warmth and roundness in the base. Liquorice materials and green anise, alongside immortelle, add more anisic nuances to the scent. There’s also a touch of birch and cade – two distinctly Finnish feeling materials – to bring the smokiness and the intensity of flavour.

We know SALMIAKKI is divisive. It’s the whole point.