Ambroxan

What it is

Ambroxan is a widely used name for ambroxide, an aroma chemical closely associated with the modern reconstruction of ambergris-like effects. Ambroxide can be produced from sclareol-derived chemistry, connecting it historically and industrially with clary sage as a feedstock route.

What it smells like

Ambroxan can read as:

• dry and woody
• musky
• mineral or slightly salty
• warm and ambery
• smooth, diffusive and persistent

It is not the same thing as natural ambergris. Instead, it reproduces part of the odour territory that made ambergris important in perfumery.

How it appears in perfumery

The Aroma Book treats explicit Ambroxan, ambrox or ambroxide source wording as a first-class material relationship. An impression that merely seems ambergris-like or synthetic does not establish Ambroxan use.