Oddly, ambergris tincture is more aromatic at 3% than at 10%. This was the concentration used by the old perfumers. At times, I’ve had 10% tinctures that won’t “wake up” and have had to adjust them to 3% and age them a bit more. This being said, I don’t remember when I tinctured this, but it’s definitely mature and at least five years old. It has a solvent-like top note, beyond the usual ether/isopropanol thing, almost benzene-like. At first this disturbed me, but I now smell an underlying complexity I didn’t before. Aromatic and animal, this is a strong tincture even though it is 3%. This tincture is a bargain.

Mature ambergris tincture is used in minute amounts in perfumes to add nuance and complexity and to help perfumes last longer. Ambergris tincture sometimes has an unexpected aroma of ether and isopropyl alcohol. This is normal (see entry under “Ambergris” in Wikipedia). This tincture has been made with pure undenatured ethyl alcohol. Keep in mind that most ambergris tincture is sold based on the weight of the raw ambergris in relation to the weight of the alcohol. Here, however, I’ve rated the ambergris based on the actual content of ambergris resin it contains. This means it is far more concentrated because there is no loss as there is when tincturing—in tincturing, the insoluble components of the ambergris sink to the bottom, meaning the resin concentration is lower than the stated concentration. Price is for 1 milliliter.

Ambergris is thrown up by whales and floats on the ocean for an indefinite period of time, likely years, before landing on a beach. Despite looking like a rock, ambergris gets found by lucky beachcombers, sometimes with their chums, ambergris poodles, trained to smell it out.

To paraphrase Coco Chanel, ambergris is expensive and odorless, but women won’t buy perfumes without it. There are many theories as to why this is (or was), most of which center around pheromones. Ambergris makes perfumes last longer on the skin and, while it hasn’t been used for decades, it adds a je ne sais quoi, a subtle, vaguely animal and sexual depth.

Ambergris has a marine and sometimes fecal smell, but there’s nothing terribly exciting about it. It must be tinctured—dissolved in alcohol—and allowed to age. Initially, the tincture has little smell, but after six months or so, it develops a strange almost ethery aroma. It usually takes two years for a tincture to fully mature. Unlike the complicated methods for making ambergris tincture, I just shake it in alcohol. If I’m in a hurry, I heat the bottle of tincture in a water bath.