Juniper berries

Juniper is a widespread shrub in Europe, which is now cultivated in the Balkans, from Macedonia to Slovenia. It grows as small bushes with thorny leaves on which round and bluish-black berries are formed. These are harvested at the end of the summer, by “hitting” the juniper to make the berries fall into a sheet. These juniper berries are used to flavor sauerkraut and to make gin for instance. In perfumery, the berries are steam distilled to extract an essential oil. This essence gives off a spicy, woody and resinous scent. It is a rather fine and peppery fragrance whose aromatic scent brings pep and depth to a composition. The juniper berry essence gives to alõ its festive side with an aromatic cocktail of gin note.