Beaver Castors-Ground

They can be tinctured as-is in 95% alcohol to prepare Castoreum.

Beaver Castor powder is prepared from the aged scent glands of Castor Canadensis, the North American Beaver. The sacs have been cured for overtwo years.

Ground Castor can be used in incense directly for a stunning and rich animalic scent reminiscent of Saffron.

Ground Castor can be tinctured in alcohol and macerated for 1 to 6 months, and then filtered for use in perfume and incense. I find the aroma of the maceration continues to evolve for at least 6 months. They are often tinctured at a ratio of 1 part Castors to 9 parts alcohol for a 10% tincture.

A Castor "Absolute" can be prepared by evaporating the alcohol from the Castor tincture.

Castor sacs have been used for hundreds if not thousands of years in traditional medicine and fragrance arts. They are considered an aphrodisiac and an attractant to both genders. Traditional medicine systems used them as an anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and to treat hormonal imbalances.

Both Beaver genders possess castor sacs which are anal glands located in two cavities under the skin between the pelvis and the base of the tail. The castor sacs are not true glands (endocrine or exocrine) on a cellular level; hence references to these structures as preputial glands or castor glands are misnomers. (Wikipedia).

The scent drawn from the glands is rich, deep, leathery and woodsy, smokey and sultry. It is a base note and fixative in mainstream and natural perfumery.

Beavers are traditionally trapped for their valuable waterproof fur, not for their scent glands.

Beaver trapping has been an important part of many North American aboriginal cultures, where a reverence for nature and her animals is an integral part of traditional hunting and trapping practices.

For instructions on how to prepare your own Castoreum and other aromatic products from Castors, please see my post here-https://apothecarysgarden.com/blogs/blog/how-to-prepare-castoreum-and-other-aromatic-delights

Dan

Materials: Beaver Castors, Castoreum, Castor sacs, Castor Canadense.