Ambergris Tincture-5% & 10% for Perfume-Incense

Description

This is a beautiful new batch (2022) of 5%  and 10% Ambergris tinctures. They are prepared from two very different pieces of Ambergris, and each has a distinct and completely different fragrance profile.

The 5% tincture is extracted from white Ambergris found on the coast of Ireland. It opens with dry marine notes, sweet animal musk and hints of floral notes. It hasan edge of fine-aged whisky which disappears during drydown. It could be described as crisp, smooth, well-rounded, and elegant.

The 10% Ambergris tincture is prepared from a piece of gold Ambergris found on a beach in the Bahamas. It is bolder, more forthright and more animalic. It opens with notes of leather and tobacco followed by an animalic musk. One could say it is louder and more masculine than the 5% Ambergris tincture. I find them both very sexy. However, the 10% tincture is definitely “Dirtier.”

Both pieces of Ambergris are “Beach-found.” This means no Whales were harmed in the making of these products.

Though there is twice as much material present in the 10% tincture, they are equal in their olfactory impact. Just different. The moral here is that every piece of Ambergris has a different character, and fragrance profile and should be used for the purposes best suited to it.

Both these tinctures were allowed to sit, macerate and mature for over a year before filtering and bottling.

I have noticed that while some botanical tinctures lose their potency over the years, animalic tinctures actually evolve and mature. Their character becomes more refined and sophisticated with time. Make sure to store them out of direct sunlight and in a relatively cool place. They do not need to be refrigerated.

Burning-Ambergris-John-Parker-Sargent.Animal-derived musks are traditional ingredients in incense blends. These include Castor, Deer Musk, Ambergris and Propolis.

Ambergris is traditionally used in perfume, incense, medicine and Gourmet food.

 Ambergris is one of those classic mystical ingredients that we find revered and referred to in many ancient texts and cultures. It is considered an aphrodisiac in many cultures and has found both culinary and medicinal applications over the centuries. It goes without saying that Ambergris has been a key ingredient in the creation of perfume and incense for thousands of years.

Ambergris is a waxy compound produced in the Sperm Whale’s bile duct in response to undigestable irritants in its digestive tract. (Historically, these foreign objects were limited to Squid beaks. However, nowadays, sadly, one is much more likely to find plastic bags and other indigestible plastic waste encased in Ambergris.)  Ambergris coats the irritants and builds up in layers over the foreign objects. These layers are one of the indicators of real Ambergris. (Many materials that look similar to ambergris are regularly found on oceanic beaches around the world). Once Ambergris exits the whale, it can float on the ocean for years and lie undiscovered on a beach for decades.

Less is best with Animalics

Like other natural animalic fragrance compounds, the magic and power of Ambergris lie not in the physical olfactory strength of its aroma. Ambergris does not have an intense fragrance and does not transform a perfume by simply contributing the weight of its aroma proportionally to a blend. Instead, it operates in a less obvious and covert manner, as if anchored in the interstices of aroma, rounding out or pulling together a bouquet from underneath or inside. It adds lift, depth, tenacity and dimension to compositions by means of a mechanism that is not well understood. Ambergris is most often used in an alcohol tincture at a very low 1% to 3% ratio in perfume blends.

For more information about making your own tincture of Ambergris, please see my post here https://apothecarysgarden.com/2019/08/22/ambergris-how-to-prepare-an-oil-attar-and-tincture/ You can purchase raw Ambergris in the shop here- https://apothecarysgarden.com/product/ambergris-gold-brown-grey-a-rare-aromatic-and-traditional-perfume-ingredient/

Please note. THIS IS NOT A PERFUME!! There are many synthetic blends on the market which are named Ambergris oil or perfume. Most contain no real Ambergris. This is not one of them. These Ambergris tinctures are exquisite and pure perfume ingredients and are meant to help transform and elevate perfume compositions. They do not smell like commercial perfumes. That being said, a drop of Ambergris tincture will meld with and often transform and elevate one’s natural body aroma when applied discreetly to pulse points or other key areas of the body.

Dan