GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES / herbal · green · aromatic
Basil Oil
Category
GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES
Subcategory
herbal · green · aromatic
Origin
Volatility
Top Note
Botanical
Ocimum basilicum
Appearance
Pale yellow to yellow clear liquid with a fresh herbaceous-anise scent
Odor Strength
Medium
Producing Countries
Comoros, Egypt, France, India, Italy, Madagascar, Vietnam
Pyramid
Top
Pungent, green-herbal freshness with a sweet anise undercurrent. Basil oil smells like tearing a fresh leaf between your fingers — sharp, almost medicinal, with a camphoraceous bite.
Intensely green and herbal, with immediate aromatic impact. The sweet/linalool type reads as fresh-floral-herbal; the exotic/estragole type is more anisic and pungent. In both cases, there is a cool, slightly camphoraceous quality and a sweetness that softens the green bite. More pungent than tarragon, less sweet than fennel, greener than anise.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Sharp green-herbal burst, pungent and aromatic. Anisic or floral depending on chemotype.
After a few hours
After a few hours
Sweet herbal heart. Camphoraceous edge softens. Green freshness persists.
After a few days
After a few days
Faint warm-herbaceous base. Quick fade — typical of high-volatility materials.
Terroir & Transformation
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Essential oil steam-distilled from Ocimum basilicum leaves. Multiple chemotypes exist, each with a markedly different scent profile. The 'sweet basil' or linalool chemotype (European/Réunion) is sweeter and more floral. The 'exotic basil' or methyl chavicol chemotype (Comoros, Vietnam) is more anisic and herbaceous. The 'holy basil' or eugenol chemotype (Indian tulsi) is spicier and more clove-like.
In perfumery, the most frequent is the methyl chavicol type from the Comoros Islands — its estragole content gives a distinctly anisic-herbal character that reads as fresh and aromatic. The linalool type from Egypt or Europe is softer, used where a gentler herbal note is needed.
Key molecules vary by chemotype: linalool, methyl chavicol (estragole), eugenol, 1,8-cineole, and methyl cinnamate. Basil oil functions as a top-to-heart note with moderate volatility. It brings green, aromatic freshness to fougère accords, herbal-citrus colognes, and aromatic compositions where lavender alone would be too predictable.
Basil's name derives from the Greek 'basilikon,' meaning 'royal' — but in medieval European folklore, basil was paradoxically associated with scorpions. The French botanist Hilaire de Barenton wrote in 1694 that simply smelling basil could breed scorpions in the brain, a belief that persisted well into the 18th century.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Steam distillation of the aerial parts (leaves and flowering tops). Yield is approximately 0.1-0.5% depending on chemotype and growing conditions. The Comoros Islands (especially Anjouan) are the primary source for methyl chavicol type; Egypt and Europe for linalool type. Harvest timing significantly affects composition — pre-flowering basil gives higher linalool content.
Pale yellow to yellow clear liquid with a fresh herbaceous-anise scent
Boiling Point
213.00 to 215.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg
Flash Point
167.00 °F. TCC ( 75.00 °C. )
Specific Gravity
0.89000 to 0.93000 @ 25.00 °C.
Refractive Index
1.47950 to 1.48950 @ 20.00 °C.
In Perfumery
Top-to-heart note in aromatic, fougère, and herbal compositions. Basil oil provides green-aromatic freshness that complements lavender, clary sage, and citrus notes. The estragole-rich type adds an anisic quality to aromatic fougères; the linalool type works better in fresh-floral and citrus-herbal colognes. Basil is also used in small doses as a modifier in green-floral accords to add naturalistic crispness.
