Vanilla Tahitian 15% Tincture

Eleonora Scalseggi has this to say “Vanillas are climbing orchids hailing from Central America whose seed pods exhale one of the most divinely intoxicating scents (and flavours!) on earth. Very complex to produce – requiring a very time consuming hand pollination in the first place and then a long, delicate curing process of the seed pods because surprisingly these are odourless when just picked from the plant. It is only after this curing process that the moist, plump vanilla beans will have developed their widely sought-after, mouth-watering aroma. A truly fascinating natural material.

Along with the more famous Bourbon vanilla (Vanilla planifolia), Tahitian vanilla is one of the few other cultivated vanilla varieties and displays a much brighter aroma profile, less dark-woody and tobacco-like and instead more radiant floral vanillin, caramelised-sugar sweet along with warm hints of dry plum notes. A more straightforward vanilla than the bourbon quality, to be preferred in compositions where no woody or tobacco notes are desired.

Tinctured at 15% in ethanol and conveniently aged and mellowed for one year, this product is a cost-effective and easy to work with alternative to other natural vanilla materials (notoriously often difficult to dissolve into ethanol), boasting good longevity for a tincture and a luscious drydown.”