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Rising Phoenix Perfumery
Birch Tar 1840's : Relic from the Past - 10 Year Anniversary Special Release
Birch Tar 1840's : Relic from the Past - 10 Year Anniversary Special Release
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$55.00 USD
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$55.00 USD
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Shipping & Returns Info.
Pertaining to all customers:
Our current lead time can range from 1 to 8 weeks.
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Jungle : USA
Species : Betula alba
Distillation : Destructive, Rectified - sometime in the 1840's
The birch tree is native to North America and grows up to 15-20 meters in height. It has slender branches, silver-white bark broken into scales. They are beautiful, and have a long history of functional and apothecary use - from making various salves and tinctures, to birch tar soap - and have even long been used as a flavoring agent for Root Beers and a host of other fizzy beverages.
Essential oils such as Birch Tar Oil have been traditionally used as the active ingredient in tar soap and ointments at 10% for the treatment of eczema and psoriasis. When mixed with other essential oils, it has also been used as an insect repellent.
The well-known scent of Russian Leather was due to the use of Birch Tar in its processing. It imparts durability to leather, and bookbinders have long used it because books bound in Russian Leather are not liable to become moldy. And for fragrance aficionados ... now you understand the inspiration for historical Cuir de Russie/Russian Leather fragrances. Without Birch Tar ... no smokey Russians !
The tar is produced from the bark of various birch species (in this case Betula alba) by slow destructive distillation. It is a rectified oil and NOT CRUDE. Rectification is a process of double distillation to remove impurities that could be harmful, and as this was an apothecary material (apothecaries are what we had before pharmacies), even 180 years ago it was a superb quality material intended for use by a trained compounder to make any number of products. Historically, Perfumers were Pharmacists and Doctors, after all ...
I happened across an unopened bottle that dates, from what I can tell, back to the 1840's. A little of this has gone in to the hands of a few perfumer colleagues - and now ...
I haven’t made a big stink about it - but this year is actually the 10 Year Anniversary of founding Rising Phoenix.
We’ve come a long way since starting RPP in 2011. I really started selling products as they look today in 2014 just before Christmas (and plan to have an Anniversary for that landmark, as well) - but we were custom distilling and making products dating back to when we started in 2011. So in wanting to commemorate that, I am releasing a slew of what Rising Phoenix is best known for - cutting edge quality products not found elsewhere.
And that brings us to this special release - a special reserve batch of 1840's Birch Tar, tamed by time, and yet another example of my *my hallmark of quality* materials found nowhere else.
To commemorate the founding of Rising Phoenix 10 years ago, I'm releasing several very unique, small batch oils because there's nothing more Hallmark about Rising Phoenix than the BEST and MOST EXCLUSIVE oils available aaaaaanywhere 😉💪🏼
So without further ado ...
THE SCENT
When freshly made - the scent is reminiscent of tar, charred wood and smoke. Many have compared it to the scent of a campfire. And by "freshly made" ... that's pretty much any Birch Tar you've likely ever smelled, even if it is a decade or two old. Takes a LONG time to tame !
With that said ... 18 decades has done more than tame this smokey beast - Time has utterly TRANSFORMED this 19th Century specimen!
Is it still smokey? Yes - but not in a campfire kinda rawness. Like very old Scotch that no longer burns the throat, the rough edges have been sanded down and painstakingly smoothed by Time. Over nearly 2 centuries, it's become something much more than a piercing smoke note ... it's become almost ... Oudy !
Expect smoked purple fruits - yes, FRUITS - layered over an insanely complex hickory, apple- and cherrywood note that smells almost like an Oud to my nose.
A little goes a VERY long way, and I've enjoyed wearing the tiniest drop of this on skin, but it also wears oh-so-well on the collar or lapel of my shirt or jacket. And as nice as it has been in the warmer months, now that it's getting colder, OMG
Don't forger to make use of this in your own blends - as I said, a little goes a very long way and adds a layer of complexity that I don't really think you'll find in any other single material.
I'm releasing only a small amount of this to commemorate my 10 Year Founding Anniversary - so be sure to grab some while it's available !!
Materials: 1840s Birch Tar Rectified
Species : Betula alba
Distillation : Destructive, Rectified - sometime in the 1840's
The birch tree is native to North America and grows up to 15-20 meters in height. It has slender branches, silver-white bark broken into scales. They are beautiful, and have a long history of functional and apothecary use - from making various salves and tinctures, to birch tar soap - and have even long been used as a flavoring agent for Root Beers and a host of other fizzy beverages.
Essential oils such as Birch Tar Oil have been traditionally used as the active ingredient in tar soap and ointments at 10% for the treatment of eczema and psoriasis. When mixed with other essential oils, it has also been used as an insect repellent.
The well-known scent of Russian Leather was due to the use of Birch Tar in its processing. It imparts durability to leather, and bookbinders have long used it because books bound in Russian Leather are not liable to become moldy. And for fragrance aficionados ... now you understand the inspiration for historical Cuir de Russie/Russian Leather fragrances. Without Birch Tar ... no smokey Russians !
The tar is produced from the bark of various birch species (in this case Betula alba) by slow destructive distillation. It is a rectified oil and NOT CRUDE. Rectification is a process of double distillation to remove impurities that could be harmful, and as this was an apothecary material (apothecaries are what we had before pharmacies), even 180 years ago it was a superb quality material intended for use by a trained compounder to make any number of products. Historically, Perfumers were Pharmacists and Doctors, after all ...
I happened across an unopened bottle that dates, from what I can tell, back to the 1840's. A little of this has gone in to the hands of a few perfumer colleagues - and now ...
I haven’t made a big stink about it - but this year is actually the 10 Year Anniversary of founding Rising Phoenix.
We’ve come a long way since starting RPP in 2011. I really started selling products as they look today in 2014 just before Christmas (and plan to have an Anniversary for that landmark, as well) - but we were custom distilling and making products dating back to when we started in 2011. So in wanting to commemorate that, I am releasing a slew of what Rising Phoenix is best known for - cutting edge quality products not found elsewhere.
And that brings us to this special release - a special reserve batch of 1840's Birch Tar, tamed by time, and yet another example of my *my hallmark of quality* materials found nowhere else.
To commemorate the founding of Rising Phoenix 10 years ago, I'm releasing several very unique, small batch oils because there's nothing more Hallmark about Rising Phoenix than the BEST and MOST EXCLUSIVE oils available aaaaaanywhere 😉💪🏼
So without further ado ...
THE SCENT
When freshly made - the scent is reminiscent of tar, charred wood and smoke. Many have compared it to the scent of a campfire. And by "freshly made" ... that's pretty much any Birch Tar you've likely ever smelled, even if it is a decade or two old. Takes a LONG time to tame !
With that said ... 18 decades has done more than tame this smokey beast - Time has utterly TRANSFORMED this 19th Century specimen!
Is it still smokey? Yes - but not in a campfire kinda rawness. Like very old Scotch that no longer burns the throat, the rough edges have been sanded down and painstakingly smoothed by Time. Over nearly 2 centuries, it's become something much more than a piercing smoke note ... it's become almost ... Oudy !
Expect smoked purple fruits - yes, FRUITS - layered over an insanely complex hickory, apple- and cherrywood note that smells almost like an Oud to my nose.
A little goes a VERY long way, and I've enjoyed wearing the tiniest drop of this on skin, but it also wears oh-so-well on the collar or lapel of my shirt or jacket. And as nice as it has been in the warmer months, now that it's getting colder, OMG
Don't forger to make use of this in your own blends - as I said, a little goes a very long way and adds a layer of complexity that I don't really think you'll find in any other single material.
I'm releasing only a small amount of this to commemorate my 10 Year Founding Anniversary - so be sure to grab some while it's available !!
Materials: 1840s Birch Tar Rectified
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