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Patton
Men’s Cologne

3.4 oz, $45. theamericaline.org.

There is Patton the man: an avid student of history and fluent in French, but peacockish and hungry for combat and glory. Then there is Patton the symbol: a tough-love general who commanded his men from the front lines, the embodiment of honor and duty. This is the Patton channeled by the U.S. Army’s first official cologne for men, and not by chance: when the fragrance’s developers met with army personnel and their families, General George S. Patton overwhelmingly emerged as a beloved icon to rival the Marines’ Devil Dog.

Not surprisingly, Patton in cologne form has had its mouth washed out with soap—a proper barbershop soap, astringently scented with citrus peel and lavender. Cedar softens and warms the scent within seconds, grounding it and taking the edge off its imperishable freshness. Patton is not distinctive from other men’s colognes on the market, and ironically bears a pleasant resemblance to the German eau de cologne 4711, which was issued en masse to U-boat crews during the war. Even if Patton cologne doesn’t conjure the essence of Old Blood and Guts, it smells nice and certainly won’t deter anyone from following whoever wears it.