Wednesday, September 26, 2007

White Sage

I managed to distill about 445 pounds of Sacred Sage (Salvia apiana). The material was dry (perhaps two years old) with stems and leaves. Because of its age, I wasn't certain what the results would be. I've been pleasantly surprised. Because the material was dry, distillation went very quickly. Each batch of near 100 pounds only took about 1/2 hour. I distilled this oil using my 100 gallon stainless steel distiller. I obtained a 3.5% yield of a pale yellowish oil. Currently, the oil is being allowed to breathe, to eliminate the still note. The aroma is very pleasant, characteristic of White Sage. I believe it will sweeten up nicely. It will be interesting to see the analysis of this oil. I'm curious to see the difference between this oil, distilled from dry (old too) leaf and stem, and oil distilled from freshly harvested material. The Lavandin oil I distilled in July is ready to be bottled. This Lavandin was grown in Scholls, Oregon at Mountainside Lavender.