Orris root
Iris pallida · Botanical
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Orris root is the dried, aged rhizome of the iris — a botanical that smells of violets and tastes of almost nothing, and which has to be stored for years before it smells of anything at all. It is a standing botanical in gin and a fixative in vermouth and bitters, where its job is as much to hold the other aromas together as to add one of its own.
Picking a good onedrag
Long-aged chips, dry and violetWoody dust, flat, no violet left
Good jarEveryday bestThe workhorse. A few grams ground into a gin, vermouth or bitters infusion, or a pinch into ras el hanout. Bought for aroma, not for taste.
The age on itDated, but only a year or two old
Smell of a broken chipViolet there, but you lean in for it
Whole or groundCut small, sealed, with a date on the pack
The chips themselvesDuller or greyer, a little dust in the bag