The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Rising Cologne is the 2022 release from Dixit & Zak, an Indian niche house. The perfume makers behind the brand are Nitish Dixit and Zakir Laskar. Where other entries in their catalog leaned into Indian sandalwood and spice traditions, Rising Cologne pushes toward something looser and brighter. The name signals the direction: fresh, ascending, citrus-led. The execution is anything but basic cologne. It carries the brand's signature density, layering jasmine, henna, and tuberose over a base of Australian sandalwood, frankincense, oud, and a whisper of civet. The citrus opening is generous: mandarin, lime, bergamot, and sweet orange stack into a bright accord that lingers longer than expected.
The interesting move here is the collision of categories. Cologne traditionally means fleeting, citrus-dominant, lightweight. Dixit & Zak keeps the citrus up top but bolts on materials that belong in extrait territory, white florals in the heart, oud and civet in the base. That tension between format and ambition is what makes Rising Cologne worth examining. Henna as a heart note is unusual, lending a green, earthy, slightly metallic warmth that grounds the jasmine and tuberose. The civet in the base does what civet does best: adds a dirty, animal hum that keeps the sweetness from going tame.
The evolution
The opening hits fast and stays bright for the first stretch. Mandarin, lime, bergamot, and sweet orange stack into something that reads less like a single fruit and more like a stack of citrus peels pressed together, each note contributing its own acidity and sweetness. The mandarin brings a juicy, almost sugary quality, lime adds sharp green tartness, bergamot lends its signature bitter-floral edge, and sweet orange fills in the warm, rounded gaps. Jasmine grandiflorum floats in almost immediately, giving the citrus a floral undercurrent from minute one, its indolic sweetness weaving through the brighter top notes like a thread of cream through coffee. Then the heart takes over. Henna comes through with that distinctive green-earthy quality, not soapy or sweet but vegetal, like crushed leaves on warm skin.
Cultural impact
Rising Cologne takes the classical Indian-Middle Eastern vocabulary of oud, civet, henna, and tuberose and frames it inside a cologne format, making something dense feel approachable. The composition honors deep Indian aromatic roots while refusing nostalgia. The materials carry weight, the construction has architecture, and the whole thing holds together through a full wear without losing its shape or its nerve. The use of henna as a featured heart note is notable, a material often overlooked in Western perfumery but central to traditional Indian fragrance practice.
The House
Dixit & ZakDixit & Zak is an Indian niche fragrance house that blends traditional Indian scent material with modern compositional techniques. Founded by chemical engineer Nitish Dixit and fourth‑generation oud distiller Zakir Laskar, the brand launched its first offering, Rising Mysore, in 2019. Since then it has built a catalogue of complex, character‑driven perfumes such as Emperor’s Court (2021) and Hindi Tabac (2022). The house works from Pune and sources raw materials from India and the Middle East, aiming to create scents that feel both rooted and contemporary.
The Creator
Nitish DixitNitish favors natural absolutes and rare isolates, often pairing ambergris‑like notes with crisp marine accords. He builds his structures in three layers: a clear opening, a heart that evolves over the day, and a lingering base that rewards patience.
