Tar

Q: Is Tar natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Pyrolysis (destructive distillation) of wood or bark. Birch tar: birch bark heated to 600-800°C in oxygen-free conditions, producing crude tar that must be rectified under vacuum to reduce PAH content from ~1000 ppm to ~10 ppm. Cade oil: juniper wood (Juniperus oxycedrus) similarly pyrolyzed and rectified. Only rectified oils meeting IFRA PAH limits may be used in perfumery. The crude tar is dark brown to black; the rectified oil is nearly colorless to pale yellow..

NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC, POPULAR AND WEIRD / earthy · balsamic · rich

Tar

Category	NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC, POPULAR AND WEIRD
Subcategory	earthy · balsamic · rich
Origin
Volatility	Base Note
Botanical	N/A — pyrolysis product (wood tar, coal tar, or birch tar)
Appearance	dark brown liquid
Odor Strength	High
Producing Countries	Finland (birch tar), Russia, Scandinavia
Pyramid	Base

Smoky, phenolic, and blackly medicinal. Tar in perfumery — whether from birch bark, juniper wood (cade), or pine — smells like campfire, burnt rubber, and old leather condensed into a single drop.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Acrid, phenolic smoke on first contact — bonfire, burnt rubber, the blackened edge of charred wood. Birch tar is sharper and more aggressive; cade oil is rounder and more resinous. Underneath the smoke: leather, creosote, a medicinal darkness similar to of Lapsang Souchong tea. The dry-down is warm and persistent — old leather, smoked wood, the inside of a blacksmith's forge.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Sharp, acrid smoke — phenolic bite, burnt wood, the first seconds of a bonfire

After a few hours

Smoke softens to creosote warmth, leathery darkness, resinous depth

After a few days

Dry, warm, leathery residue — old books, worn saddle, smoked wood

The Full Story

Tar in perfumery means pyrolysis — wood or bark heated to destruction in the absence of oxygen, producing a dark, smoky liquid rich in phenols, guaiacols, and cresols. The three main sources are birch tar (Betula pendula/pubescens), cade oil (Juniperus oxycedrus), and pine tar, each with a distinct personality.

Birch tar is the sharpest and most phenolic. Rectified birch tar oil (CAS 84012-15-7) smells of bonfire, burnt rubber, and smoked leather — the backbone of Russian Leather accords that defined early 20th-century masculine perfumery. Crude birch tar contains dangerously high levels of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, including benzo[a]pyrene), so it must be vacuum-distilled to reduce PAH content from approximately 1000 ppm to under 10 ppm before use.

Cade oil (CAS 8013-10-3), from juniper heartwood, is softer and more resinous — less of a phenolic slap, more of a creosote warmth. It works well in incense and smoky-amber compositions where birch tar would be too aggressive. Both are used at very low doses: 0.01-0.2% is sufficient for a perceptible smoky-leathery effect.

The key arom a chemicals in tar oils include guaiacol (CAS 90-05-1), methyl guaiacol, cresols, and phenol itself. Synthetic alternatives like Pyralone and Birkholz can approximate the smoky quality, but natural rectified tar oils reta in a complexity — a layered darkness — that isolates cannot match.

This note in Première Peau. Simili Mirage · Doppel Dänçers. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Related: Coal Tar Pitch · Motor Oil · Petroleum

Did You Know?

Did you know?

Birch tar is one of humanity's oldest manufactured materials. Archaeological evidence from a Neanderthal site in Campitello, Italy, dates birch tar production to at least 200,000 years ago — predating Homo sapiens in Europe. The Neanderthals used it as an adhesive to haft stone tools to wooden handles.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Pyrolysis (destructive distillation) of wood or bark. Birch tar: birch bark heated to 600-800°C in oxygen-free conditions, producing crude tar that must be rectified under vacuum to reduce PAH content from ~1000 ppm to ~10 ppm. Cade oil: juniper wood (Juniperus oxycedrus) similarly pyrolyzed and rectified. Only rectified oils meeting IFRA PAH limits may be used in perfumery. The crude tar is dark brown to black; the rectified oil is nearly colorless to pale yellow.

Molecular Formula	Complex mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and phenols
CAS Number	8007-45-2 (coal tar) · 8001-88-5 (birch tar)
Botanical Name	N/A — pyrolysis product (wood tar, coal tar, or birch tar)
IFRA Status	Restricted — coal tar (CAS 8007-45-2) is classified as carcinogenic and is not recommended for fragrance use; birch tar oil or cade oil are used as alternatives in perfumery
Synonyms	ASPHALT · PITCH · BITUMEN
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	High
Lasting Power	400 hours at 100.00%
Appearance	dark brown liquid
Boiling Point	175.00 °C. @ 760.00 mm Hg
Flash Point	154.00 °F. TCC ( 67.78 °C. )
Specific Gravity	1.13000 to 1.35000 @ 25.00 °C.
Refractive Index	1.52200 to 1.59000 @ 20.00 °C.

In Perfumery

Tar notes functi on as base-note anchors in leather, smoky, and animalic compositions. Three main sources dominate: birch tar oil (Betul a pendul a/pubescens, CAS 8001-88-5, rectified CAS 84012-15-7), cade oil (Juniperus oxycedrus, CAS 8013-10-3), and pine tar. Birch tar is the sharpest — intensely smoky and phenolic, the backbone of classic Russian Leather accords. Cade oil is softer and more resinous, with a creosote-like warmth. Both are obtained by pyrolys is (destructive distillati on of wood) and must be rectified (vacuum-distilled) to remove carcinogenic polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) before use. in contemporary use, trace amounts (0.01-0.2%) are sufficient for a perceptible leathery-smoky layered. Tar notes pair with birch, labdanum, castoreum, and isobutyl quinoline in leather accords, and with vetiver, oud, and incense in smoky ambers.