Lavender Fine and Lavender Green

I've decided to use these two names to differentiate between the two hydrosol distillations of lavender that I've been brewing up this past weekend. Lavender fine is the distillate from the flower buds and smells smooth and rich, while lavender green is the distillation of both the buds and stems and has a slight medicinal, piquant green note to it, and is not as smooth. I've managed to get a little bit of oil out of both these distillations, but still notes persist -- heck, the brew is only a few days old! -- and won't settle down to its lavender goodness for at least a month or so.

Though the process is more efficient, it's still a pain in the arse. I distill early in the am and late in the night because the peak of heat in the daytime prevents me from firing up the metal monster to work its magic. By day's end I will have a gallon of lavender hydrosol. Finally.

The black velvet apricot hydrosol is to die for! It smells of the fresh fruit; the tang of plum, the juiciness of apricot and back and forth. Verrah nice. The blackberry hydro is a juicy berry rush -- I stuffed the al- embic and squiged the berries down as much as I could, letting the juices flow, before adding the water. This made for a super berry scent with some earthy back notes. Also verrah nice. I don't have much of this hydro, just 32 ounces, as I used up all the blackberries in the one distillation. I didn't even get to nibble a few before they went in. Blackberry season is over in the valley this year, so there won't be any more at least until next summer.

I don't ever get tired of making hydrosols, I just get tired of the house warming up too fast when I do. Otherwise, the metal monster would be fired up 24/7, kicking out delicious smelling skin waters non-stop.