Quick answers
History
Angels’ Share launched on 1 October 2020, alongside Roses on Ice, as The Zoe Report recorded. The pair opened The Liquors, the spirits-inspired family from By Kilian. The product page frames it as the introduction of a new olfactive family.
The name refers to “la part des anges”. That is the share of spirit that evaporates from oak barrels while cognac ages. The house calls it rising “like a silent offering to the gods”.
The subject is personal. The product page describes Kilian Hennessy as an eighth-generation heir to the Hennessy cognac savoir-faire. He told The Zoe Report the scent grew from his memory of the Hennessy cellars he visited as a child.
He calls it “my most personal fragrance creation yet”. The composition went to French perfumer Benoist Lapouza, in his first collaboration with the house.
The launch landed mid-pandemic. Hennessy said he had worked on the scents “for many months before the crisis began”. In November 2020, The Zoe Report noted the fragrance was out of stock at several US online retailers.
The scent has since become a line. As of 6 November 2026, the house’s “Angels’ Share collection” page lists three fragrances: Angels’ Share, Angels’ Share on the Rocks and Angels’ Share Paradis. A shower gel and a body lotion extend the range.
Fragrance notes
By Kilian publishes a three-tier pyramid on its product page. Osmetheca reproduces it as published, then adds the notes named in the house’s description.
The house’s description ends the scent on sandalwood, praline and vanilla. The page’s meta description also names hazelnut. The ingredient list includes coumarin, cinnamal and cinnamyl alcohol among the declarable allergens.
Scent profile
The scent profile is a woody gourmand amber. Cognac essence opens on the warmth of an aged spirit. Oak and cinnamon carry it. Tonka bean, then praline and vanilla, round it off.
Its distinctive trait is a deliberate distance from the drink. Hennessy told The Zoe Report he wanted to be “close enough to the idea but far enough so people would not smell as a cognac”.
The Zoe Report called it “not too gourmand and not too botanical” in 2020. Osmetheca files it with the woody gourmand ambers. The house places The Liquors under a “gourmand & fresh” label.
“Angels’ Share represents a kind of comforting scent, almost cocooning.”Kilian Hennessy, The Zoe Report, 18 November 2020
Key characteristics
When and where to wear
The house gives no wearing advice, and Osmetheca has not tested this fragrance on skin. In 2020, The Zoe Report pitched it as a going-out scent, the kind of night the pandemic had put on hold.
Hennessy stresses its comfort instead. With cognac, cinnamon and tonka bean at its core, Osmetheca places it among cold-weather fragrances, for evenings out or at home.
Similar perfumes
Four fragrances published on Osmetheca share the tonka bean, the praline or the amber warmth of Angels’ Share.
| Perfume | House · year | Why related |
|---|---|---|
| Tobacco Vanille | Tom Ford · 2007 | The same amber warmth, on tonka bean, vanilla, spices and dried fruit. |
| Praliné de Santal 18.1 | Pierre Guillaume Paris · 2011 | Sandalwood and hazelnut, two notes named by Kilian. |
| Layton | Parfums de Marly · 2016 | Praline, vanilla and sandalwood in the base, like the Angels’ Share drydown. |
| Fumerie Turque | Serge Lutens · 2003 | A soft amber on tonka bean and vanilla, with honey and tobacco. |
Frequently asked questions
See also
Sources
- Kilian Paris, Angels’ Share product page, The Liquors collection (notes, description, perfumer, ingredients), accessed 6 November 2026
- Kilian Paris, “Angels’ Share collection” page (three fragrances), accessed 6 November 2026
- Madge Maril, “What Do People Want To Smell Like During 2020? As It Turns Out, Cognac”, The Zoe Report, 18 November 2020, updated 20 February 2024
- Osmetheca, By Kilian house entry