Arctander is good for the imagination…

…I managed to get a copy of Arctander from Amazon awhile ago for substantially less than any of the other outlets claiming to offer a discount (I think it’s quite ballsy to call it a discount when you’re working your angle as the only gig in town for a reprint), and just wanted to note for posterity that if you are patient, and just visit your local public library or university library when you need to look up materials, eventually that used copy will pop up on one of the used book sites. And boy will you be glad you waited.

But I wanted to post about aromatics that few to none of us self-taught never even imagined existed at some time.

Case in point, mistletoe absolute. From Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin, ‘…A very rare perfume material occasionally available is the Absolute of Mistletoe, known in France as Absolue de Gui. It is prepared by the usual two-step extraction from the leaves and twigs of Viscnum Album, a parasitic plant, quote common in central and southern Europe…

Mistletoe Absolute is a dark green, very viscous liquid of bitter-herbaceous, foliage-green, or rather green-bark type of odor. The dryout is sweeter and more pleasant…’ (p. 420)

Dude. Mistletoe? I had no idea.

On the other hand, one sees a lot of familiar face here. Muhuhu gets a mention, carob gets a mention, templin and deertongue get mentions.

But I’m still hung up trying to imagine the green vegetal bitterness of mistletoe, of course.