To imagine a smell that transports you back in time hundreds of years to an old rural castle in France is hard to do with the vast majority of fragrances. However, the perfume line from luxury cognac house P. Frapin & Cie does precisely that.

One could write an old-fashioned romance novel based on the Frapin family's rich history. But for creative director David Frossard it was the inspiration for all seven fragrances. The Frapins, one of France's oldest and most venerable families, have been making cognac at their Fontpinot Castle in France's Grand Champagne area since 1270 and have now moved into the fragrance business. Moreover, in 1697, Louis XIV accorded the Frapin family formal nobility, making it even more of a fairy tale.

There are six distinct scents that represent various facets of life in and around the castle during its long history, according to Frapin. 'Passion Boisee,' with notes of nutmeg, rum, and cedar wood, is supposed to evoke memories of lengthy walks on the grounds followed by late liquor tastings, while the perfume 1270 evokes the sweet, damp basement of the castle with notes of candied orange, coffee, and gayac wood. A great cognac, says Frapin fragrances are the inspiration for the scents in our collection. "We're trying to connect the dots." As difficult as it may sound, one sniff of the line's expertly created aromas will have you daydreaming about strolling through a sun-dappled vineyard or swirling an after-dinner cordial with your new fancy French buddies.

Frapin's perfume line is exclusively offered in select, high-end retailers like MiN New York in SoHo, in keeping with the company's attitude of excellence, luxury, and tradition. To convey an old-world elegance, MiN has a vintage air to its décor, which are meant to make you feel like you just walked into your extremely elegant friend's study, complete with antiques and a bar. There's no way to tell from the dark wood shelves of the store's fine beauty and grooming wares, many of which have histories dating back 200 or 300 years, whether the store appears exclusive because it carries such luxurious products, or whether the products appear exclusive because they're featured there. Spiced flowers and dried fruit blend with amber, vanilla, and other wood essences in the new line's 1697 fragrance. Frapin's 1697, which will be available this spring, was designed to capture the grandeur of that historic period in the company's history while also offering the ultimate in upscale luxury, since just 1,697 of the limited edition bottles will be produced.

It may seem like a strange shift, but Frossard has made the move from a beverage to a cosmetic product without a hitch.

illustrates how the inspirations and distillation processes for both cognac and perfume are inextricably linked. While an excellent land is necessary for the production of cognac, it isn't enough; you must also have more than 100 years of skill in distillation to produce the finest that nature has to offer. In order to "replicate the story of Frapin," Frossard claims that "we use the ingredients from Grasse to replicate the story of leather and sandalwood to rum and tangerine." The elaborate beechwood top, which takes a pipemaker years to construct and adds an added sense of refinement to each bottle, is another distinctive feature linking the company's cognac and scent.

All Frapin scents are unisex, with the exception of L'Humaniste, a smell for males. (Wow, a cognac firm that thinks about women as well?). It has gone a long way from the days of the all-male brandy and cigar parties As far as Frapin is concerned, there is no need for different scents for men and women. Frapin points out that "men may wear flowers, and women can wear vetiver or woods," when it comes to fragrance stereotypes. In our efforts, we want to liberate individuals from making decisions based just on what they are taught, but rather on how it makes them feel.