Question:
Are the earlier Penhaligons fragrances, such as Blenheim Bouquet, more respected as fragrances than the newer additions? I have the feeling that when the company was purchased from the original family, they began introducing fragrances just for the sake of bringing new fragrances to market without them really being considered great, memorable fragrances. Your thoughts?

Answer:
Disagree. I scent like Blenheim Bouquet has been around for ages and afforded the time to develop a following, especially in an era when there were no where near as many fragrances being released as there are now. As a result, the stakes are up to find a bona-fide hit right from the start. Walk into any Macys, Dillards, Nordstrom, etc. You'll notice there's a certain amount of trendy colognes, those that have come out within the last year, and a large staple of others they supply on a regular basis (the classics, if you will). If you go back to the same store a year later, you'll see the classics are still there, but ask them if they still carry M7, Dior Homme, etc., and they don't. Here today, gone to the bargain bin or lesser stores tomorrow. Part of this is because some of the stores have exlcusive launch rights, but ultimatley, if the public doesn't get the scent, and there isn't interest, it fades. Same thing can be said of Movies, musicians, etc. The people behind them want instant gratification, and are less inclined to nurture a career over the course of time.
But back to Penhaligons. I LOVE Opus 1870 which came out within the last year and half. Saying this, it's a victim to its own birthdate--it just simply hasn't been around that long to have had the same opportunities for noses to sniff it. Doesn't necessarily mean it will someday be given the rank of "knighthood", but it's just a new fragrance in a different time and era than some of the others. With all other brands clogging the market, it's that much more difficult to come up with something unique and memorable. The good thing is I don't believe Penhaligons is flooding the market with fragrances, or 30 variations of a particular one, either.

Answer:
I'm with Thebark on this. We had the pleasure at the recent Basenotes London lunch of a talk through the full range of Penhaligon's. They have released four new mens scents in the last 20 years - which doesn't really bear out your argument. Some people say that Opus 1870 is their best yet.
I'm working my way through all the samples we picked up. I'd tried and owned some Penhaligon's for a while (Castile, Blenheim Bouquet, English Fern), and whilst BB and Hammam Bouquet are classics, my favourite is still Castile from 1998.
Just out of interest -why do you have the feeling that standards have slipped?

Answer:
I have only tested a couple, but all I've got to say is that if I had to reduce my collection to just a few scents, Endymion would be one of them, no questions asked. A girl measuring me for a suit was obviously "turned on" by it...she made it pretty obvious, even though she asked about it for her boyfriend!

Answer:
Originally Posted by michaeld39 Just out of interest -why do you have the feeling that standards have slipped? I've heard that since being sold to a large corporation, Penhaligons uses more synthetic ingredients than in the past, and less natural ingredients, but this is just chatter.

Answer:
Originally Posted by marc39 Are the earlier Penhaligons fragrances, such as Blenheim Bouquet, more respected as fragrances than the newer additions? I have the feeling that when the company was purchased from the original family, they began introducing fragrances just for the sake of bringing new fragrances to market without them really being considered great, memorable fragrances. Your thoughts?

marc39, you'r damned right!

In hard words: Not the fragrances only has changed, the entire company has dropped, since it's own by venture capital company!

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Answer:
Hmmm ... Sorry I'm still a bit puzzled by this.
The original family firm owners stopped making scents in the late 60s / early 70s. You can't mean that change. There has, I believe, been a more recent change in ownership - so what you say isn't inconceivable.
If the allegation is not the original one of introducing new and substandard fragrances, but what Paradeiserl seems to be alleging - some sort of reformulation of existing lines, then ... I'm still far from convinced. I got my bottle of Castile about three years ago and tried a sample from a fresh bottle last weekend and they were the same.
Has anyone done a 'before and after' testing of one of their fragrances and found significant differences?