Bergamot-Petitgrain Oil

#### Bergamot-Petitgrain Oil. This is also known as "petitgrain bergamier or "essence de brouts de taille du bergamottier. This oil is steam distilled from the leaves and twigs of the bergamot tree which is grafted upon the stubs of bitter orange trees. Distillation takes place in Calabria, Italy during the "fruitless" season when the trees are pruned. The demand for this oil is not great, and the annual production can be estimated at about one metric ton. **Bergamot-Petitgrain Oil **is a green-yellow to olive-yellow colored mobile liquid, possessing a typical "petitgrain" odor: bitter-fresh, yet with a pronounced sweet-woody background. There is a strong resemblance to the better grades of South American petitgrain oil, although with an emphasis on the linalool-linalylacetate notes, and there are fewer bitter-dry notes. All told, the **Bergamot Petitgrain Oil **does not introduce any really new or highly interesting notes in perfumery. Accordingly, this oil may never attain any importance. It is conceivable that **Bergamot Petitgrain Oil **will continue to be used in the all too well known "cutting" of true bergamot peel oil, together with the oil of "fallen" bergamots (see following monograph).