Today, while contemplating new recipe ideas for snuff, it began to rain.  That earthy scent that arrives just as the rain starts to hit the soil and dry rocks has been termed Petrichor and the main molecule involved is Geosmin.  So, the question began to form … how could I try to capture that scent in a snuff?  Has anyone ever tried a snuff that reminded them of this scent?  

The only food-based product I could find that contains this is beets / beet juice.  I’m going to soak some Natural Burley in beet juice and maybe add a touch of Black Walnut extract for extra earthiness and see what happens.  In the meantime, please let me know if you have any ideas.  Thanks! 

Ummm… That sounds amazing. You’ll probably end up with a red/purple snuff though. Definitely going to stain a few shirts.

Demeter Fragrances makes some scent sprays that are uncanny in their evocation. Some worth drawing attention to are their scents Dirt (http://demeterfragrance.com/dirt.html), Earthworm (http://demeterfragrance.com/earthworm.html), Rain (http://demeterfragrance.com/rain.html), Thunderstorm (http://demeterfragrance.com/thunderstorm.html). I think the company may use Petrichor components in these scents, because as I said, the result is uncanny.

They use mostly naturally sourced ingredients but in some cases must use synthetics where necessary. As for the safety of using them on snuffs, it probably is (if you use the cologne sprays, which are suspended in alcohol for better diffusion). But if in doubt, you could contact the company.

@Ubiquitous:  I hadn’t considered the possible staining from the beet juice … too funny!  The prospect of it turning out purple, however, is very cool.   B-)

@cpmcdill:  Thank you for the feedback on those Demeter Fragrances.  I’d seen them online and wondered if they were as “real” smelling as some of the reviews indicated.  These would be a great way to infuse the scent indirectly if it’s safe.

@cobguy I was thinking the same thing the other day when it was raining. I would love a snuff with the scent of a good desert rain like creosote. Creosote gets its smell from a combination of terpenes, limonene, camphor, and 2-undecanone. There might also be a creosote bush extract that could be used. Anyways, that could be a good scent. Let me know if you make it. I’ll be a guinea pig.

@Psicko: That’s a great idea! Creosote is certainly a distinct odor and would lend it that great dry-desert quality. I’m going to order a couple of the fragrances @cpmcdill mentioned and will look for Creosote as well. Guinea pigs are always needed so I’ll keep you apprised of the progress … thanks!

Not a problem. Always here to help.

Synchronicity! We’ve had buckets of rain lately. However, Saturday was relatively dry until a quick afternoon T-storm. It raised a very beautiful aroma, which my wife and I were discussing when I struggled to pull “petrichor” from my brain. It finally came to me, though I don’t think I’ve heard of geosmin. Is Limburgertabak the red one? I did not really notice how red it is when I first took it in the gloom of my Basement of Solitude. After a blow in a white hankie, I freaked out for a couple seconds! I’ve never had a nosebleed, but it looked like a few mls of blood.

@TerrapinFlyer: If you mean the Limburgertabak from de Kralingse molens you are mistaken. The Limburgertabak does not contain coloring. I guess you mean the Son de Tonca No. 1 which contains English red. This snuff is highly apreciated by our Chinese customers.

Jaap Bes.

@snuffmiller, my apologies. It is the Son de Tonca No 1 that I mean. Not to worry, I enjoy them both. It was quite startling to first notice the red after blowing, though!

@TerrapinFlyer:  Limburgertabak sounds like another project I’m going to work on this week … except I’m going more for a provolone / swiss  scent.  LOL

See Tom Robbins, *Jitterbug Perfume,* a must-read for anyone working with scents. I read it maybe 25 years ago, but I think I just was inspired to dig out my copy for a reread. Anyway, there’s excellent treatment of the aroma of the mangel-wurzel, or beet. It’s an entertaining novel that works on a several levels.

I love the scent of tomato plants when you brush the leaves when harvesting fruits. But I can only enjoy it in the summer garden. The deer like it to.  Just put up a 6 ft tall fence to save my garden.   

@basement_shaman - Demeter makes a fragrance for that too. And when I say their scents are uncanny, I do not exaggerate. They completely nail everything they set out to match:

http://demeterfragrance.com/tomato.html

I read a review of Fribourg & Treyer’s Old Paris (possibly here) which suggested it had a scent reminiscent of the ground after the rain,  and I’d say that’s about right. 

Incidentally, I read the review after trying the snuff and trying to work out what it was that  it reminded me of…

786  @TerrapinFlyer, Jitterbug Perfume was the novel that clinched it for me; after I finished it I officially despised Tom Robbins. 

@slobandtom, not a fan? Maybe he’s an acquired taste. I can see why someone wouldn’t like his writing.

I’m still curious to learn the “secret of the mysterious beets” and about Bingo Pajama. 

I tried a small amount of beet juice with some plain Natural Burley and it didn’t do much. I hope indirect scenting using the Demetre Fragrance will work better.

786  Initially I was very enthusiastic; he came highly recommended to me by a friend who shares my enthusiasm for our mother tongue and knew of my…unusual interests.
But for every laudable thing he does with words–and they are many–he also commits what I consider grave offenses; the latter just piled up to a point where they outweighed anything I enjoyed about Robbins’s writing.

Accidental post in the wrong thread. Sorry, thought I clicked on “cigars”

This scent would be near impossible to capture with contemporary perfume making techniques. Although you could experiment with blending essential oils, the main issue here is finding the right combination and getting the ideal fleeting scent. If there is a perfume or cologne that you have smelt that resembles these notes within the perfume I may be able to recreate the scent you are talking about, something longer lasting to give me a little more time to differentiate between the scents involved. Or even a deodorizer of some sort that reminds you of this smell, anything I could work off and ill get back to you with what I come up with.

https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/256843287/petrichor-oil-soaked-earth-fragrance?utm\\_source=google&utm\\_medium=cpc&utm\\_campaign=shopping\\_au\\_en\\_au\\_c-bath\\_and\\_beauty-other&utm\\_custom1=1dea7b2e-0acf-49a3-ab2d-beeeafd67fdc&gclid=Cj0KEQjw3s6-BRC3kKL\\_86XDvq4BEiQAAUqtZ\\_DvLLrMak-oKLqT4xRp3uc4NM0N4GF01\\_103gjPBd0aArXr8P8HAQ

If this scent is what you’re after it looks like people have already tried to synthesis this scent using natural oils. If this is what you want you may want to message the sender before purchasing and find out if it contains food grade essential oils. If it does you could lightly scent your snuff with a substantially diluted solution of this oil.

Regards Aamon