Welcome to the Hidden Gin, a production of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron

Minky.

I love to smell good and I have been kind of obsessed with smelling nights since I was about 13 years old

and I'm happy to say this was well before the advent of axe body spray. Now you might not be aware but

perfumes that are filled with alcohol aren't very popular in many parts of the world, including where

our family hails from, Pakistan. Instead, scented oils called other have been used widely for thousands of

years by people in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. And our family was no different. My parents

had tiny little precious vials of the rich perfumed oil tucked away here and there in a dresser drawer

in the glove compartment of my dad's pickup truck. Some were clear, others had a dim golden color

and some were a deep amber viscous and thick sealed tightly like a treasure. And they were treasures

because real authentic author is very very expensive costing in the thousands for single ounce of

the really good stuff. It's pure unadulterated essence with no alcohol, no dilution of the deeply

heady sense captured inside every drop. It's so strong that you can smell the essence even when

the vials are sealed. A drop on each wrist maybe one behind an ear would last all day. I never

dared to steal any drops because there would be no hiding it. The scent travels, turning you into a

walking incense stick and the minute you enter a room wearing some others will immediately know.

And also my siblings and I were strictly forbidden from wearing other. And not because it was expensive.

We were forbidden because see the scent doesn't just draw other people to you. It draws creatures

that we can't even see to it, especially outside and especially at night time. So our elders told

us to be wary of going out at night when the Jin were most active, heavily perfumed because it

could prove irresistible to them. After all the Jin lurked everywhere in darkness and smelling

sweet and inviting could be just the thing that captured their interest. On the other hand you also

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