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The Origin of Ambergris (2012)

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Re: The Origin of Ambergris (2012)

#11

Post by Loughla »

dekhn wrote: post #7
amarcheschi wrote: post #3

Up until not too much ago we also extracted musk essence from the anal glands of white belly musk deer. Another interesting thing is oud. It's a resin produced in aquilaria trees when infected with a specific fungus, and it can cost tens of thousands of dollars per kg. I think one of the first famous commercial Perfumes to use it was m7 by ysl, you can read an article on it on fragrantica: https://www.fragrantica.com…

Don't forget castoreum, from sacs near the anus of beaver.

I recently did a trapping class with my youngest so he could get his license to trap nuisance animals.

I was surprised by how pleasant beaver smells. And how DELICIOUS they are.

How are they not extinct?

Re: The Origin of Ambergris (2012)

#12

Post by givemeethekeys »

amarcheschi wrote: post #3

Up until not too much ago we also extracted musk essence from the anal glands of white belly musk deer. Another interesting thing is oud. It's a resin produced in aquilaria trees when infected with a specific fungus, and it can cost tens of thousands of dollars per kg. I think one of the first famous commercial Perfumes to use it was m7 by ysl, you can read an article on it on fragrantica: https://www.fragrantica.com…

I'll stick to normal exotics like Axe Body Spray.

Re: The Origin of Ambergris (2012)

#13

Post by jarsbe »

Clamchop wrote: post #4

Fortunately for perfumery, ambergris' distinctive odor is principally owed to just two chemicals, ambroxan and ambrinol, both of which are now synthesized.

The bloom and trail effect given by ambergris is replaced with ambroxan, however combining ambroxan and ambrinol does little to recreate a "real" ambergris odour. Those may thousands of other molecules, while perhaps only <5%, give a very distinctive and unique odour. It's like a rich leather bag that's been floating in the ocean for +30y - salty, marine, animalistic, musky and leathery all in one.

Re: The Origin of Ambergris (2012)

#14

Post by bartread »

Loughla wrote: post #11
dekhn wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget castoreum, from sacs near the anus of beaver.

I recently did a trapping class with my youngest so he could get his license to trap nuisance animals. I was surprised by how pleasant beaver smells. And how DELICIOUS they are. How are they not extinct?

In some parts of the world they have been extinct. They'd been extinct in the UK for a very long time until recently re-introduced.

Re: The Origin of Ambergris (2012)

#15

Post by dekhn »

givemeethekeys wrote: post #12
amarcheschi wrote: post #3

Up until not too much ago we also extracted musk essence from the anal glands of white belly musk deer. Another interesting thing is oud. It's a resin produced in aquilaria trees when infected with a specific fungus, and it can cost tens of thousands of dollars per kg. I think one of the first famous commercial Perfumes to use it was m7 by ysl, you can read an article on it on fragrantica: https://www.fragrantica.com…

I'll stick to normal exotics like Axe Body Spray.

Axe Body spray:

Alcohol Denat, Butane, Isobutane, Propane, Perfume, Ethylhexylglycerin, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Citral, Citronellol, Coumarin, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Limonene, Linalool.

The perfume likely contains exotics, but the rest of the ingredients are mainly sourced from fermentation products, hydrocarbons (petroleum), or synthetic versions of plant oils/terpenes.

Coumarin came up on Hacker News recently: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40758767

The entire history of perfumes is fascinating, and like pigments/dyes, was completely transformed by modern organic synthesis, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfume#History and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfume#Synthetic_sources

Re: The Origin of Ambergris (2012)

#16

Post by jarsbe »

amarcheschi wrote: post #3

Up until not too much ago we also extracted musk essence from the anal glands of white belly musk deer. Another interesting thing is oud. It's a resin produced in aquilaria trees when infected with a specific fungus, and it can cost tens of thousands of dollars per kg. I think one of the first famous commercial Perfumes to use it was m7 by ysl, you can read an article on it on fragrantica: https://www.fragrantica.com…

Oud is exceptional. I highly recommend anyone wanting to explore beyond western perfumes to check out www.ensaroud.com - there's some really fantastic descriptions of olfactory notes too.

Re: The Origin of Ambergris (2012)

#17

Post by dekhn »

Loughla wrote: post #11
dekhn wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget castoreum, from sacs near the anus of beaver.

I recently did a trapping class with my youngest so he could get his license to trap nuisance animals. I was surprised by how pleasant beaver smells. And how DELICIOUS they are. How are they not extinct?

That's a great question, I really have no idea (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_hat).

I'm generally not opposed to hunting, and totally get that beavers are a nuisance to many people, but IMHO they're probably a load-bearing element of many ecologies. I was just looking at 150 acres of swamp supporting a diverse ecosystem today created by a family of beavers

Re: The Origin of Ambergris (2012)

#18

Post by bawolff »

Loughla wrote: post #11
dekhn wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget castoreum, from sacs near the anus of beaver.

I recently did a trapping class with my youngest so he could get his license to trap nuisance animals. I was surprised by how pleasant beaver smells. And how DELICIOUS they are. How are they not extinct?

> How are they not extinct?

Hats went out of fashion.

Re: The Origin of Ambergris (2012)

#19

Post by cogman10 »

Loughla wrote: post #11
dekhn wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget castoreum, from sacs near the anus of beaver.

I recently did a trapping class with my youngest so he could get his license to trap nuisance animals. I was surprised by how pleasant beaver smells. And how DELICIOUS they are. How are they not extinct?

> How are they not extinct?

One species of beaver, the European beaver, almost did go extinct. The American beaver was simply lucky to live in a vast unpopulated land where it wasn't a highly desired hunting target.

Re: The Origin of Ambergris (2012)

#20

Post by toast0 »

givemeethekeys wrote: post #12
amarcheschi wrote: post #3

Up until not too much ago we also extracted musk essence from the anal glands of white belly musk deer. Another interesting thing is oud. It's a resin produced in aquilaria trees when infected with a specific fungus, and it can cost tens of thousands of dollars per kg. I think one of the first famous commercial Perfumes to use it was m7 by ysl, you can read an article on it on fragrantica: https://www.fragrantica.com…

I'll stick to normal exotics like Axe Body Spray.

Consider branching out to Bod.
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