Ambergris: the sperm whale concretion that fixes a perfume

Where does ambergris come from?

Ambergris forms from a secretion of the bile duct in the intestines of the sperm whale, and turns up floating at sea or washed ashore, says Wikipedia's article on ambergris. Freshly expelled, it is pale, soft and smells faecal. Months to years of sunlight and oxidation in the ocean harden it into dark grey, waxy lumps with a far more pleasant smell.

The change is chemical. Ambrein, a nearly odourless terpenoid in ambergris, breaks down through oxidation into ambroxide and ambrinol, the main odour components of the mature material.

What does ambergris smell like?

Mature ambergris smells sweet, earthy, marine and animalic at once, often compared to a richer, smoother isopropyl alcohol without the sting. The French Wikipedia entry adds woody, dry, balsamic, floral and tobacco-like facets. Perfumers work with it as an alcohol tincture, which the IFRA Fragrance Ingredient Glossary files under amber, with sweet and mossy nuances.

What does ambergris do in a perfume?

Ambergris is a fixative: it lets a scent last much longer, lifts more fleeting materials and typically forms a base note. The Dutch merchant Jan Huygen van Linschoten already described it combined with musk, civet and benzoin. Rare and costly, it has mostly given way to synthetic ambroxide, better known as Ambroxan. It belongs to the amber family.

What else should you know about ambergris?

• Ambergris that a sperm whale has excreted naturally counts as a waste product and is not covered by CITES, yet trading it is banned in the United States, Australia and India and legal in France, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
• In perfumery, amber also names a family of warm scents built on ambergris or labdanum, often with vanilla and tonka bean.
• The Class on animal notes and their substitutes explains why perfumery replaced ambergris, musk and castoreum.