This, one of the most expensive of all natural perfume materials, is on a steady retreat from the perfumer's shelf. This fact is due not only to the high price of orris absolute, but also because of the appearance of a number of fine synthetic chemicals which either reproduce the principal notes in orris absolute, or are actually present in the natural material and have been duplicated in organic synthesis. Orris Absolute is produced from the concrete oil of orris by alkali washing in ethyl ether solution to remove the myristic acid which amounts to 85-90% of the concrete oil. The absolute is also produced from a petroleum ether concrete, which is free from myristic acid. The liquid portion is carefully vacuum distilled.