The fascinating presidential history of Albert Fouquet’s Eight & Bob fragrance
In partnership with Eight & Bob.
By Will Stroude
With rich base notes of Sandalwood, Amber and Vetiver and sweet top notes of pink pepper, cardamom and lemon, Eight & Bob is a fragrance that exudes a timeless, masculine appeal that can be worn year-round – but it’s the story of how this aroma first came into being which has established its enduring elegance.
The fascinating tale of Eight & Bob’s birth begins in France in 1937, where perfumier Albert Fouquet was enjoying a summer vacation on the Cote d’Azur, where he crossed paths with a young American student who became captivated by his alluring scent.
Charmed by the young American, Fouquet had a sample of his cologne sent to the man’s hotel, along with an infamous message bearing the immortal shade: “In this bottle, you will find the dash of French glamour that your American personality lacks.”
The young man on the receiving on this gift had a name: John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
After returning to the States to complete his Harvard senior honors thesis as war descended upon Europe, the future Preisdent of the United States got back in touch with Albert, revealing the fragrance had proved a hit with friends and asking for eight more samples “‘and, if your production allows, another one for Bob”.
Bob, of course, being John’s brother and future New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
Given the high-fliying circles John and Bobby Kennedy were travelling in during the period, it’s no surprise that within months Fouquet was receiving requests for the fragrance from some of Hollywood’s starriest players including Cary grant and James Stewart, quickly establishing Eight & Bob as one of the most exclusive fragrances of the era.
Tragically, Fouquet would not get to see where the young student he met that summer would end up just two short decades later after being killed in a car accident in 1939. The Eight & Bob scent would be breifly carried on by his butler Phillippe during the war years, before being lost to the annals of time before revived by Phillippe’s family decades later.
While the exact production technique remains under wraps, rare aromatic plants from the Andes form the heart and soul of Eight & Bob – ingredients almost as rare as the incredible story of how this classic fragrance came into being.
E&B Original Eau De Parfum 100ml is available for £140 at at harveynichols.com.