Avicenna

In the 10th century AD, a prolific Persian polymath named Ibn Sina or

“Avicenna“ to the Europeans, created a way to extract aromatic compounds

from plant material. Today, this system of extraction is known as steam

distillation. One of the plants that he first distilled was the infamous

Rose x Damascena or Damask Rose. By steam distilling the rose petals, he

was able to obtain two by-products, an essential oil and rose water. The

concentrated oil was used to make attars and to treat health conditions and

the rose water had a wide array of uses from culinary to scenting fountains

of palaces and mosques. This led to the Persians exporting rose water along

other commodities such as fine textiles and carpets to as far away as India

and China in exchange for exotic woods, spices, and porcelain.

Olfactory Group: Amber Floral

Notes:

Rose Absolute, Pink Pepper, Ceylon Cinnamon, Vanilla and Benzoin