Any perfume house that traces its recipes back to a 16th century chemist can probably boast a fair bit of knowledge when it comes to developing timeless fragrances. Despite this storied past — not to mention its centuries of built-in R&D — Farmacia SS. Annunziata of Florence, Italy is woefully under-appreciated in North America.

This year, its perfumers set out to change that, expanding on their line of classic scents with ISOS, a men’s fragrance notable mostly for its bracing, pepper-loaded top notes which elevate that spice to dizzying heights.

Annunziata’s auspicious history reaches back to an apothecary founded by Domenico di Vincenzo di Domenico Brunetti who, back in 1561, took over a shop owned by the Benedictine Nuns of San Nicolò and started brewing the scents that the Farmacia still creates and sells to this day. Which brings us to ISOS.

Breathe in too strongly in the opening and your eyes will water freely — but that’s unlikely to stop you, since you’ll want to take in as much of this fine blend as possible. Following the first exhilarating minutes, the dry-down reveals a cedar base, with clove, mint, and myrrh all jostling for attention, so time spent with this fragrance is somewhat akin to finding an abandoned wooden box that is improbably stuffed with bundles of fresh spices. And several surprising hours later, as ISOS settles, light vetiver notes stay close to the surface — and fashionably so, considering how popular that fragrant grass has become in recent years.

But ISOS is not just another new vetiver scent, or a trendy new offering from a historic line. It brings with it a sense of age and maturity that is both instantly familiar and constantly interesting. In its fiery way, this eau de parfum is decidedly masculine and wears its boldness proudly, favouring spice over sweetness. It’s also about as addictive a scent as you’re likely to encounter.

ISOS, along with the rest of the Farmacia SS. Annunziata line, is available from Luckyscent.com.