Boadicea the Victorious Opal

The Bottle

Opal makes its central snake emblem the obvious point of attention. Fine concentric detailing and a broad ornamental border spread across the gold-coloured circular body, leaving little need for a conventional label. Above, the rounded metal cap has tiered contours and a warm gold-coloured finish. The clear rectangular base is broad enough to account for the bottle feeling heavy. This is Boadicea at its most decorative, with virtually no attempt at understatement. It’ll be too showy for some tastes, but the snake gives the front a memorable identity.

Original or Clone

Opal’s bottle gives the original a presence that belongs to this release itself. Its character is unusually specific on paper: warm spicy, fresh spicy and woody accords, with powdery facets behind them. A single house has tried to reproduce that profile, which signals some reference value even without comparative scores. We find the original worth buying for readers who want this distinctive presentation and the release itself, while the interpretation remains a reasonable alternative for readers who do not need either.