Maybe I’m just late to the party, but the current interest in scent seems to trace back to a single individual: Luca Turin.  It started when Turin and Tania Sanchez wrote a book of inscrutable but hilarious perfume reviews. Chandler Burr then wrote a book about Turin and Turin’s controversial theory about the mechanism of smell, and parlayed that into a job as the first ever perfume critic for the New York Times.

In response, Avery Gilbert wrote a less than complimentary review (pdf) of Burr’s book and Turin’s science, which led to a full-length book about the science of smell. Gilbert is occasionally pedantic – there are twelve pages devoted to debunking Proust and his fans. But What the Nose Knows is – title notwithstanding – the best popular science book on scent that I’ve read so far, if you’re interested in the experimental evidence anyway.

Now, a fast-food chain is running a viral marketing campaign using perfume as the hook, and Dr. Gilbert has taken the opportunity to write a snarky Burr/Turin/Sanchez style review of Eau de Hamburger. Excerpt:

Flame’s topnote unfolds like a prepubescent Asian contortionist climbing out of a crate of overripe Algerian pears. The bold viande accord in the heart introduces itself with solid, yet suave confidence—it’s Richard Gere on steroids. Boisdur delivers a signature touch with a trace of instantly recognizable isopropylparabenzyldicaproic acetate. The effect is stunning: like spare ribs slow-cooking on a Weber E-210 at a Section C tailgate party in the Meadowlands. The drydown is long and satisfying.

Fifteen years ago the only book I found on smell was Max Lake’s somewhat lascivious Scents and Sensuality, which was interesting but not exactly confidence-inspiring. Good times for olfactory aficionados – thank you Dr. Turin.