Re: Ambrette seed tincture Update from ?

[Guest guest]

>

> My Ambrette seed tinctures are 5 weeks old now. 3 more weeks of

> maceration, then filtering, bottling and finally the experimental

> blending will begin. The ground seed tincture 25% (by weight) has a

> slightly musky scent, but as Ayala said, it smells more like " skin. "

> On the other hand, the whole seed tincture 50% is extremely musky!

> It smells so wonderful, almost as potent as my Ambrette seed absolute

> and much less expensive than the absolute, I'm sure. Now, I wish I

> had made the whole seed tinctures only, but in that case, I would not

> have been able to smell the difference.

> Mark

Hi !

I was just wondering how the tincturing has gone with the whole vs.

crushed seeds since your last post? I FINALLY got my hands on some 200

proof USP ethanol so I can at last tincture my own seeds from Anya. Did

you follow the 25 parts seed to 100 part alcohol rule for the whole

seeds?

iel

[Guest guest]

> I was just wondering how the tincturing has gone with the whole vs.

> crushed seeds since your last post? I FINALLY got my hands on some

> 200 proof USP ethanol so I can at last tincture my own seeds from

> Anya.

Although 200 proof alcohol is recommended by Arctander for Ambrette

seed tincture, a little water in the alcohol is sometimes a good

thing because some of the fragrance components may be water-soluble

and not alcohol-soluble. I used 192 proof alcohol (4% water).

>Did you follow the 25 parts seed to 100 part alcohol rule for the

whole seeds?

My recommendations are: 1) Do not grind the seeds - Leave them

whole. In the end, I don't think grinding the seeds made any

difference and it is so much easier just to leave them whole. 2) As

a substitute for Ambrette seed absolute (with a strong, musky

fragrance) make a 50% tincture (e.g. 100 grams Ambrette seeds whole

and 100 grams alcohol. 3) To make use of Ambrette's exalting and

fixative qualities, make a 25% tincture (e.g. 100 grams Ambrette

seeds whole and 300 grams alcohol) and use it as a substitute for

alcohol in your perfume formulae. And don't forget to shake the

tincture well every day and let it age for 2 months before filtering

and bottling.

Mark

[Guest guest]

ankhefenpaaten <potpourri@...> wrote:

> I was just wondering how the tincturing has gone with the whole vs.

> crushed seeds since your last post? I FINALLY got my hands on some

> 200 proof USP ethanol so I can at last tincture my own seeds from

> Anya.

Although 200 proof alcohol is recommended by Arctander for Ambrette

seed tincture, a little water in the alcohol is sometimes a good

thing because some of the fragrance components may be water-soluble

and not alcohol-soluble. I used 192 proof alcohol (4% water).

>Did you follow the 25 parts seed to 100 part alcohol rule for the

whole seeds?

My recommendations are: 1) Do not grind the seeds - Leave them

whole. In the end, I don't think grinding the seeds made any

difference and it is so much easier just to leave them whole. 2) As

a substitute for Ambrette seed absolute (with a strong, musky

fragrance) make a 50% tincture (e.g. 100 grams Ambrette seeds whole

and 100 grams alcohol. 3) To make use of Ambrette's exalting and

fixative qualities, make a 25% tincture (e.g. 100 grams Ambrette

seeds whole and 300 grams alcohol) and use it as a substitute for

alcohol in your perfume formulae. And don't forget to shake the

tincture well every day and let it age for 2 months before filtering

and bottling.

Mark

I agree about not grinding the seeds. I had two 25% tinctures and I like the

one where the seeds were sort of broken up in my food processor more than the

one where I really ground them up, it's a little more sweet/musky. I still have

some seeds - maybe I'll try a 50% tincture. My tinctures are about five months

old.

Elise

http://www.tambela.com

---------------------------------

Sick sense of humor? Visit TV's Comedy with an Edge to see what's on,

when.

[Guest guest]

Thank you and Elise for following up and clarifying the

quantities for me! I only have a small amount of alcohol and want to be

sure I used it wisely the first time! I appreciate this very much!!

iel