The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Anisetta arrives in 2025 as something of a left turn from ATon's oud-centric catalog. The house built its reputation on heavy resins and aged agarwood. Anisetta, named for the Italian anise liqueur, is lighter by design. Perfumer Aton Gerasimov wasn't chasing trends here. He was chasing contrast: the sharp citrus of yuzu against the cool, almost medicinal clarity of star anise, with jasmine and deer musk holding the warmth underneath. The name is a nod to a spirit that's been drunk in Italy for centuries, not sweet like ouzo, more herbal, more honest. That spirit lives in this bottle.
Anise is a tricky material. Get the dosage wrong and it tips into furniture polish. In Anisetta, the star anise is held in check by yuzu's bright, almost bitter citrus. Turmeric adds a warm, earthy undertone that most people don't see coming. Cedarwood provides the drydown anchor. But the real story is deer musk, a material ATon has used before, here deployed to extend the jasmine-anise conversation for hours without ever becoming heavy. It's what turns a sharp opening into a lingering question.
The evolution
The first thirty seconds are all yuzu. Sharp, clean, slightly bitter. Then star anise arrives and cools everything down, like walking into an air-conditioned room after standing in heat. Jasmine doesn't barge in; it seeps through, slowly, taking its time. By the thirty-minute mark, the yuzu has retreated but the anise is still there, cooler now, more herbal. The jasmine is fully in bloom, with rose adding a whisper of sweetness. Cedarwood begins to assert itself around the two-hour mark, adding dryness to what was floral. The deer musk is the slow reveal, present from the start but never loud, it comes forward as everything else settles, wrapping jasmine and anise in something warm and close. The drydown holds for eight to ten hours on most skin. On fabric, it's there the next morning.
Cultural impact
Anisetta arrives during a period when Western audiences have grown more adventurous with aromatic and spicy compositions. The yuzu-star anise pairing echoes both Japanese culinary traditions and European liqueur heritage, creating a fragrance that feels globally inspired yet distinctly modern. ATon's positioning of this scent within an oud-focused house signals a willingness to diversify, appealing to collectors seeking novelty. The 2025 release date places it squarely in an era where niche perfumery continues to challenge mainstream conventions, making it a conversation piece within fragrance communities that value uniqueness over mass appeal.
