What does blackcurrant smell like? Tart, green and a little wild

Blackcurrant is one of the most surprising notes in perfume. It is fruity, but not simply sweet. It is tangy, green and sharp, with a strange, slightly wild edge that perfumers sometimes politely call "catty". In French it is cassis, the name you will often see on perfume labels. It adds life and tension to a scent, and it is behind the bright, tart opening of many famous fragrances.

What does it smell like?

Tart, juicy and green, with an unexpected animal twist. A blackcurrant note might show:

• Dark berry: the juicy, purple, jammy smell of ripe blackcurrants
• Tartness: a sharp, mouth-watering sourness
• Green leaves and buds: a crisp, leafy, slightly bitter freshness
• Catty: a sulfurous, musky edge that some people compare to cat urine or tomcat. In small amounts it makes the note feel real and alive.
• Sweetness: in sweeter versions, a candy-like or cordial-like note

In perfume, blackcurrant is usually a top or heart note. The fruity part fades fairly quickly, but the green, bud-like part can linger.

Where it comes from

The blackcurrant, Ribes nigrum, is a small shrub native to northern and central Europe and parts of northern Asia. It needs cold winters to grow well. Its tiny, dark berries are very sour and rich in vitamin C. They are used in jams, juices and syrups, and in liqueurs such as crème de cassis, famous from the region around Dijon.

For perfume, the most important part of the plant is not the berry, but the bud: the small, closed bud on the stem before it opens into leaves. Burgundy in eastern France is the main source of blackcurrant buds for perfume, with smaller amounts from other parts of France.

Blackcurrant has a more complicated history in North America. In the early twentieth century, the United States restricted growing it because the plant can spread a disease to valuable pine trees. That is one reason blackcurrant flavour is much more familiar in Europe than in the US.

How it's made

Blackcurrant buds are harvested in winter, while the bushes are dormant, after the plants have been pruned.

The buds are processed by solvent extraction. They are soaked in a solvent that pulls out their fragrant parts, producing a waxy material called a concrete. This is then washed with alcohol to remove the wax, giving a thick, intense liquid called blackcurrant bud absolute. Some producers also use CO2 extraction, which uses carbon dioxide under pressure and gives a cleaner, brighter result.

The absolute is very powerful. It smells green, fruity and strongly catty. Perfumers use it in small amounts.

The key to its smell are sulfur-containing molecules called thiols, present in tiny traces. Our noses are extremely sensitive to them, so even a minute amount has a big effect. They give blackcurrant its catty, tropical tone. The same family of molecules helps give grapefruit, passion fruit and some wines (such as Sauvignon Blanc) their distinctive smell.

A short history of blackcurrant in perfume

• Early use: blackcurrant was known for centuries as a fruit and as a herbal remedy. In perfume, the bud absolute became a recognised material in the twentieth century.
• The 1970s and 1980s: blackcurrant bud began to appear more often in fine perfume, adding green, fruity sharpness to florals and chypres. Van Cleef & Arpels' First (1976), by Jean-Claude Ellena, is often mentioned as an early perfume to feature it.
• Diptyque L'Ombre dans l'Eau: this Diptyque perfume paired blackcurrant leaf and bud with rose to capture a garden by the water. It is still one of the most famous blackcurrant scents.
• The fruity era: from the 1990s onward, blackcurrant became a common top note in fruity and fruity-floral perfumes, often softened and sweetened.

Blackcurrant in modern perfume

Today blackcurrant is widely used, often as part of the opening:

• Creed Aventus (2010): blackcurrant sits with pineapple, apple and bergamot in the opening of this hugely popular men's scent.
• Tom Ford Black Orchid (2006): blackcurrant adds dark fruitiness to a rich, velvety, spicy floral.
• Lancôme La Vie est Belle (2012): blackcurrant and pear give a juicy opening to a sweet gourmand.

Real vs synthetic blackcurrant

Perfumers use both.

• Natural blackcurrant bud absolute is green, complex and very authentic, but it is costly, strong-smelling and must be used carefully. Fragrance safety guidelines limit how much is used.
• Synthetic blackcurrant notes are built from fruity esters, green molecules and specially made materials. These include sulfur molecules that recreate the catty tone, and others such as Labienoxime, which give a cleaner, fruitier blackcurrant without as much animal edge.

Most modern blackcurrant notes use a blend: a little natural bud for realism, and synthetics to make it brighter, sweeter and more stable.

What blackcurrant pairs well with

• Rose: a classic. Blackcurrant makes rose feel fresh, green and modern.
• Fig and green notes: share its leafy sharpness
• Pineapple and other fruits: for a juicy, tropical opening
• Patchouli and woods: give blackcurrant a darker, deeper base
• Vanilla and praline: turn it sweet and jammy
• Grapefruit: both share sulfur-based molecules, so they blend naturally

Perfumes to try

• L'Ombre dans l'Eau by Diptyque: blackcurrant leaf and rose. Green, tart and romantic.
• Aventus by Creed (2010): fruity, smoky and very popular. Blackcurrant is part of its famous opening.
• Black Orchid by Tom Ford (2006): dark, rich and dramatic, with blackcurrant in the mix.
• La Vie est Belle by Lancôme (2012): a sweet, accessible scent with a juicy blackcurrant and pear opening.

How to wear blackcurrant

• Fresh, green blackcurrant scents suit spring and summer days.
• Darker or sweeter blackcurrant scents work well in autumn and evenings.
• If you are sensitive to the catty side, try a sweeter, fruitier blackcurrant perfume first.
• Give it a few minutes on skin. The sharp opening often softens into something rounder.

Who will love it

People who like fruity perfumes with a twist. Fans of tart flavours, berries and green, garden-like scents. Anyone who finds sweet fruit perfumes too sugary. And anyone curious about how a "strange" note can make a perfume feel more alive.