Question regarding musk storage and maceration

[Saudalhajri]

I just received a couple samples from Eden Botanicals including two 5ml sandalwoods, New Caledonia (Santalum austrocaledonicum) and Australian plantation grown (Santalum album).

It’s my first time trying genuine sandalwood. And I understand what people mean by “buttery”, there’s a hint of it in the Australian plantation grown but for me its like sour cream or yogurt.
The New Caledonian has less buttery notes and more dry wood.

I’ve chosen the New Caledonian sandalwood to begin my journey, my reasoning being that it overall has a weaker scent, which will make the final maceration clearer and focused more on the musk.

 

[jinishshah]

I’m pretty new in this forum so I apologize if this is the wrong section for my topic.

I’m planning on making a big batch of musk in sandalwood oil for my personal use, and to pass on to my children.

The total weight would be 300g of musk grains in 1 liter of mysore sandalwood
As is obvious, this is a very expensive project, and I won’t be able to do it in one go. So I’m planning on buying the materials but by bit every month.
But the problem arises with the storage. My questions are:
1. What is the best way to preserve raw musk pods until I use them? In the freezer? Dry them first? Or how?
2. If I were to buy the sandalwood oil first, and add the musk to it bit by bit, how would I record the maceration time? If I added 30g a year ago, and 30g today, would the maceration be 1 day old or 1 year old?
3. What are the best conditions to macerate and store? I presume a dark, room temperature place right?

I apologize if these questions have been asked before, but from my research here people ask only about making a batch all at once, not over time.

 

[Goodness Nose]

awesome project! i plan on doing a siberian pod maceration at the end of this year, if the universe allows, in my own sandalwood distillation. i personally love the way sandalwood blends with musk. ive got my sights set on some old sinking santalum album logs, and as close as i can get to a 30 gram Siberian pod (ive gotten samples from @NinjaRobb and i have a plan now 😌)

 

[Saudalhajri]

awesome project! i plan on doing a siberian pod maceration at the end of this year, if the universe allows, in my own sandalwood distillation. i personally love the way sandalwood blends with musk. ive got my sights set on some old sinking santalum album logs, and as close as i can get to a 30 gram Siberian pod (ive gotten samples from @NinjaRobb and i have a plan now 😌)

The entire pod or just the grains?

 

[Goodness Nose]

The entire pod or just the grains?

the grains, and im going to flesh the pod down too. i want it to be really sharp, and i hear the pod itself holds a lot of the more uric notes. the way a deep rich sandalwood plays with those notes is sensual to say the least 😜

 

[Goodness Nose]

here's those samples i mentioned!
on the left is Mongolia, and the right, Siberia. both are in santalum album. both are starting to get that color 😍

i wanted to use my own sandalwood oil in these too, but i messed up the oil by using bad water to distill it, so these are in Eden Botanicals oils. it already smells fantastic 😋

though Eden is reliably good, i think for a large batch im definitely going to use a higher quality oil though, since musk is so precious. Before you settle on an oil, try some samples from one of our residents who has real mysore, or oil specifically made from roots is really special too. it might seem expensive, but remember bulk is cheaper 😀

might even get someone to make you your own batch of oil specifically for your project to make it really stand out. i know @mesOUD makes an outstanding NTT sandalwood in his copper still. i always thought that would make for an ultimate maceration medium.

 

[Saudalhajri]

here's those samples i mentioned!
on the left is Mongolia, and the right, Siberia. both are in santalum album. both are starting to get that color 😍

i wanted to use my own sandalwood oil in these too, but i messed up the oil by using bad water to distill it, so these are in Eden Botanicals oils. it already smells fantastic 😋

though Eden is reliably good, i think for a large batch im definitely going to use a higher quality oil though, since musk is so precious. Before you settle on an oil, try some samples from one of our residents who has real mysore, or oil specifically made from roots is really special too. it might seem expensive, but remember bulk is cheaper 😀

might even get someone to make you your own batch of oil specifically for your project to make it really stand out. i know @mesOUD makes an outstanding NTT sandalwood in his copper still. i always thought that would make for an ultimate maceration medium.

That looks beautiful! What difference did you see between the Siberian and Mongolian?
And thanks for the advice, I will keep on testing different sandalwoods. A distiller I know is currently distilling some NTT , but unfortunately it’s quite a small batch.
Price is important to me, and good mysore can get very pricey, especially if you’re buying 250ml or 500ml. So I’m trying to minimize the cost without sacrificing quality. Why is Santal Album and specifically mysore the most praised for maceration? Would Australian or Indian (other than mysore) Satanl Album result in a bad maceration?

 

[Goodness Nose]

That looks beautiful! What difference did you see between the Siberian and Mongolian?
And thanks for the advice, I will keep on testing different sandalwoods. A distiller I know is currently distilling some NTT , but unfortunately it’s quite a small batch.
Price is important to me, and good mysore can get very pricey, especially if you’re buying 250ml or 500ml. So I’m trying to minimize the cost without sacrificing quality. Why is Santal Album and specifically mysore the most praised for maceration? Would Australian or Indian (other than mysore) Satanl Album result in a bad maceration?

Definitely wont result in a bad product if you get one over the other. Eden to me has a pretty high standard for their oils and their price for bulk is great. its just good to look around a bit because maybe one will strike you as "the one" and you'll have to have it, price be damned! 😆 (done that before)

the region matters because it gives a different hue to the oil depending on where the oil is from. Mysore India just happens to be one of the spots on Earth that is known for its particularly exquisite smell. my first sandalwood distillation was Mysore stamped heartwood. the oil might still be one of my favorites, and i hope i can make more of its like some day soon. of course, that doesn't rule out other countries for their scent either. its like agarwood in that no one location has the "best" oudh, because its all subjective and your preferences will differ from mine, and even change over time.

as for Mongolian vs Siberian, i definitely recommend getting some grains from NinjaRobb cause he's got both! Siberian is powderier, and more floral. Mongolian to me is leatherier, and more astringent. I feel like an artisan grade santalum spicatum distillation might even be a good option for the Mongolian as well. when November rolls around, I'll be doing stuff and posting pics on my section on the forum so you can see what im doing, and learn what not to do if i make any mistakes 🙃

 

[Saudalhajri]

Definitely wont result in a bad product if you get one over the other. Eden to me has a pretty high standard for their oils and their price for bulk is great. its just good to look around a bit because maybe one will strike you as "the one" and you'll have to have it, price be damned! 😆 (done that before)

the region matters because it gives a different hue to the oil depending on where the oil is from. Mysore India just happens to be one of the spots on Earth that is known for its particularly exquisite smell. my first sandalwood distillation was Mysore stamped heartwood. the oil might still be one of my favorites, and i hope i can make more of its like some day soon. of course, that doesn't rule out other countries for their scent either. its like agarwood in that no one location has the "best" oudh, because its all subjective and your preferences will differ from mine, and even change over time.

as for Mongolian vs Siberian, i definitely recommend getting some grains from NinjaRobb cause he's got both! Siberian is powderier, and more floral. Mongolian to me is leatherier, and more astringent. I feel like an artisan grade santalum spicatum distillation might even be a good option for the Mongolian as well. when November rolls around, I'll be doing stuff and posting pics on my section on the forum so you can see what im doing, and learn what not to do if i make any mistakes 🙃

I thought that mysore in particular has a special ability to enhance or improve on musk? I guess I thought wrong. I’ll stick with the Eden botanicals for now, and make a small batch to understand how a maceration changed over time.
I’ve bought from NinjaRobb before, a long time ago I think two years or something. It was the first time I smell actual deer musk and it was intoxicating I tell you. Over that time I used tiny bits of it here and there experimenting with oud oils and I wasn’t disappointed at all, it instantly improved every oud I added it to and only got better with time.
I haven’t tried his Mongolian but I might do one day, or maybe make a maceration of both. Have you tried ASAQ Himalayan deer musk? If so, is it similar to Mongolian musk? It’s quite similar to Siberian but a little smoother and more urinary, but less pungent.

 

[Goodness Nose]

I thought that mysore in particular has a special ability to enhance or improve on musk? I guess I thought wrong. I’ll stick with the Eden botanicals for now, and make a small batch to understand how a maceration changed over time.
I’ve bought from NinjaRobb before, a long time ago I think two years or something. It was the first time I smell actual deer musk and it was intoxicating I tell you. Over that time I used tiny bits of it here and there experimenting with oud oils and I wasn’t disappointed at all, it instantly improved every oud I added it to and only got better with time.
I haven’t tried his Mongolian but I might do one day, or maybe make a maceration of both. Have you tried ASAQ Himalayan deer musk? If so, is it similar to Mongolian musk? It’s quite similar to Siberian but a little smoother and more urinary, but less pungent.

i havent tried that one! I'll add it to my list.

Mysore oil to me seems particularly floral to me, which is why i think Siberian musk would pair with it so well, being along the floral side itself. mesOUD has a Siberian musk in Mysore that is absolutely divine, and is one of the musk oils that sent me on this path! its super powerful, powdery, pink in nature of smell. must behold in person.

 

[Deen]

I mixed my musk grains (siberian and Mongolia, got from mesoud) in sandalwood also mixed from various region ( India, Australia, Sri Lanka etc). Will wait patiently for the result

 

[sevki_ak]

i havent tried that one! I'll add it to my list.

Mysore oil to me seems particularly floral to me, which is why i think Siberian musk would pair with it so well, being along the floral side itself. mesOUD has a Siberian musk in Mysore that is absolutely divine, and is one of the musk oils that sent me on this path! its super powerful, powdery, pink in nature of smell. must behold in person.

I agree. My first experience with Deer Musk and it blew me off. Especially with 30% Deer Musk in Sandalwood its very strong musky and then gets creamy chocolaty after the dry down. Sadly the longevity is not that long on my skin

 

[nomany85]

I’m pretty new in this forum so I apologize if this is the wrong section for my topic.

I’m planning on making a big batch of musk in sandalwood oil for my personal use, and to pass on to my children.

The total weight would be 300g of musk grains in 1 liter of mysore sandalwood
As is obvious, this is a very expensive project, and I won’t be able to do it in one go. So I’m planning on buying the materials but by bit every month.
But the problem arises with the storage. My questions are:
1. What is the best way to preserve raw musk pods until I use them? In the freezer? Dry them first? Or how?
2. If I were to buy the sandalwood oil first, and add the musk to it bit by bit, how would I record the maceration time? If I added 30g a year ago, and 30g today, would the maceration be 1 day old or 1 year old?
3. What are the best conditions to macerate and store? I presume a dark, room temperature place right?

I apologize if these questions have been asked before, but from my research here people ask only about making a batch all at once, not over time.

impressive good luck

 

[Saudalhajri]

First practical serious experiment. I got a sample of newly distilled mysore sandalwood, added it to dried Siberian musk grains from SiberMusk.
The musk grains were added to the bottle then I crushed them as best I can while they were inside.
The musk was 0.4g dry weight, and sandalwood was 1.6g, totaling 2g with musk being 20% by weight. I’ll leave this closed and only open it in six months inshallah. If the maceration is good, I’ll order more from the same supplier.

What should I expect from 20% sandalwood maceration?
I only tried a 10% maceration from sibermusk, and higher percentages in rose oil.

 

[Mr.P]

View attachment 42813

First practical serious experiment. I got a sample of newly distilled mysore sandalwood, added it to dried Siberian musk grains from SiberMusk.
The musk grains were added to the bottle then I crushed them as best I can while they were inside.
The musk was 0.4g dry weight, and sandalwood was 1.6g, totaling 2g with musk being 20% by weight. I’ll leave this closed and only open it in six months inshallah. If the maceration is good, I’ll order more from the same supplier.

What should I expect from 20% sandalwood maceration?
I only tried a 10% maceration from sibermusk, and higher percentages in rose oil.

I made a 20% musk infusion into primo deg tamil nadu sandalwood oil back in the late 90's. Musk was authentic, good quality and semi-vintage. I have smelled a few other infusions of unspecified concentration since so weigh this limited experience against those who do this all the time:

I experience a unique and very distinct heavy cocoa woody accord formed between Sandalwood and musk and that accord is very durable meaning it is perceived similarly to across a range of ratios. Even a tiny bit of Sandalwood induces this accord if it comes anywhere near musk in my experience. For me, this accord is very different than the smell of musk itself and I have mixed feelings about it.

I would love to experience a Sandalwood musk infusion where the musk itself really sings through the sandalwood and it comes across as a musk with all its top and middle note character, as opposed to the musk-sandalwood cocoa accord which is fantastic in it's on right, but leans towards heavier and more grounded aspects of the aroma. I think you'd have to go well over 20% for this to happen, but I actually don't know if that just reflects the specimens that I had or the reality of musk in general

 

[Saudalhajri]

would love to experience a Sandalwood musk infusion where the musk itself really sings through the sandalwood and it comes across as a musk with all its top and middle note character, as opposed to the musk-sandalwood cocoa accord which is fantastic in it's on right, but leans towards heavier and more grounded aspects of the aroma

Likewise. I just love the scent of raw musk.
It feels to my nose like how the sound of rain and crackling fire feels to my ears. There are certain top notes that are lost when macerated in sandalwood.
My second option is to macerate it in a nearly odorless and colorless ceylon sandalwood oil that i tried.

Do you get the same issue when macerating in pure santalol?

 

[Mr.P]

I have not and I don't have any grains to experiment with. I am almost 100% certain the outcome would be the same because the pure santalol is very similar to sandalwood and in my experience even traces of blander sandalwood will alter the musk to lose its top notes when layered on skin.

Also my source of biotech santalol dried up so for now it's back to sandalwood oil as a carrier for me.

here is something that you should take with a huge grain of salt unless you have enough musk to just experiment willy-nilly: some part of my brain is always telling me that Australian Sandalwood is the thing that musk wants to be macerated in. This is based on some limited experiences with layering scent. I don't really mess around much with animal musk so I never followed up on this, but if I were to do an experiment of musk in Sandalwood oil I would probably do it into some higher grade aussie spicatum oil - I feel like it's unique resinous notes could exalt the musk aroma in some way.

 

[DubOudh]

I have not and I don't have any grains to experiment with. I am almost 100% certain the outcome would be the same because the pure santalol is very similar to sandalwood and in my experience even traces of blander sandalwood will alter the musk to lose its top notes when layered on skin.

Also my source of biotech santalol dried up so for now it's back to sandalwood oil as a carrier for me.

here is something that you should take with a huge grain of salt unless you have enough musk to just experiment willy-nilly: some part of my brain is always telling me that Australian Sandalwood is the thing that musk wants to be macerated in. This is based on some limited experiences with layering scent. I don't really mess around much with animal musk so I never followed up on this, but if I were to do an experiment of musk in Sandalwood oil I would probably do it into some higher grade aussie spicatum oil - I feel like it's unique resinous notes could exalt the musk aroma in some way.

I have stated this in an other thread elsewhere...but the best result I have gotten with these two ingredients are when I used a Tongan Sandalwood and Siberian musk. So you might be on to something about the Australian sandal.....

 

[Mr.P]

I have stated this in an other thread elsewhere...but the best result I have gotten with these two ingredients are when I used a Tongan Sandalwood and Siberian musk. So you might be on to something about the Australian sandal.....

You know it's about freaking time I at least tried layering some Aussie sandalwood with some musk tincture. This is the benefit of community… conversations like this remind one of ideas that may have slipped the mind

This is not the same as infusing the two but (for science) I'm going to try layering some. Will share my findings

 

[Saudalhajri]

I have not and I don't have any grains to experiment with. I am almost 100% certain the outcome would be the same because the pure santalol is very similar to sandalwood and in my experience even traces of blander sandalwood will alter the musk to lose its top notes when layered on skin.

Also my source of biotech santalol dried up so for now it's back to sandalwood oil as a carrier for me.

here is something that you should take with a huge grain of salt unless you have enough musk to just experiment willy-nilly: some part of my brain is always telling me that Australian Sandalwood is the thing that musk wants to be macerated in. This is based on some limited experiences with layering scent. I don't really mess around much with animal musk so I never followed up on this, but if I were to do an experiment of musk in Sandalwood oil I would probably do it into some higher grade aussie spicatum oil - I feel like it's unique resinous notes could exalt the musk aroma in some way.

I said before New Caledonian sandalwood would fit perfectly and it’s from the same region as Tongan. it’s not as thick as Indian or Indonesian, and has a thin airy fresh quality to it, and leaves a massive empty place for musk to fill.