Jackie Zykan: Maître Liquoriste + Perfumer + Herbalist

By: Jackie Zykan 

Oooo it is getting zesty out there, folks. The warmth of the sun starts to thaw our lethargic wintered selves and although green is just beginning to return, we can feel it sprouting from our very core. Spring brings awakening, effervescence, and much needed relief from dark, cold contraction. This year it seems we longed for this shift in a profoundly deeper way than times past, but consistent as ever is the enthusiasm of renewal expressed in the form of almost-ritual cleaning. Our energy is finally perking up enough to get up, get moving, and start fresh and as a fragrance enthusiast, I get disproportionately excited to see what new scents will be showcased in this season’s spring cleaning product binge. This same situation happens every year when the weather cools and fall/winter scented candles hit shelves. I just can’t help myself. It’s almost embarrassing. Scent is so interwoven with memory and emotion that it makes perfect sense for it to play a primary character in the moments of transition, especially seasons, and especially for a perfumer. But this year is different, and I am different, and the entire world seems different. The way we spend, the way we waste, the way we consider toxicity, sustainability, the way we have grown less apologetic to hold standards - including those that pertain to nitty gritty personal preferences like the smell of seasonally available household cleaners. Spring marketing reliably showcases the smells of pastels, as I call them, light florals and tender herbs. Fall will always showcase warm baking spices and creamy gourmand notes. And you will find a wide variety of options from sprays, scrubs, diffusing blends, candles, detergents, etc. to accessorize your season with your preferred scents. And you’ll also find a wide range from synthetic to natural products. As well as a wide range of prices. Now is the appropriate time to share, as someone who makes her own skincare and grows her own food, I have a dark confession: I still grapple with my conditioning towards natural cleaning products. They can cost more, and the voice in my head sneers “they aren’t as effective”. Despite my out of place and snarky inner monologue about it, I still buy “clean” ingredient laden products, alas I just don’t feel the same satisfaction. I feel I’ve been duped. They’re not entirely “clean” and my green guilt chooses to pay the premium, surrendering to the notion that a little bit less toxic is at least better than not. I fully recognize this is a “me” issue, not an industry issue. I also fully recognize the only way to reboot my brain is to prove myself wrong on the subject, and maybe this perspective would best serve as an addition to the list of things to clean up this spring. 

Household cleaners (disinfectants, degreasers, etc.) are one of the least expensive, easiest things to make from scratch. The only thing stopping me is clearly a trust issue. I work with the powers of plants in every other realm, so I’m embarrassed to admit their countertop and bathroom cleaning contributions just feel invasive somehow. In a way it feels disrespectful to them, even though internalized remedies that rely on their antiviral or antibacterial properties feel morally sound? Again, my issue. Not the point. I justify this disconnect with various brick walls. Sometimes blaming the cost of the rabbit hole when one decides to take on a “homemade” passion project. Much like anything else, you can really rack up a tab if you have to buy all of the individual ingredients, especially when essential oils get involved. Then add in time, storage of ingredients, and it makes sense why a plastic bottle on a shelf is so seductive. But I can, and I will, rewrite this story. And I invite you to join in the experience. We will once and for all give earnest effort to make the change and finally believe fully in our capacity to make simple, natural, safe, effective products that still smell amazing. We can do it without buying the entire essential oil collection at the store and we can create signature scents to match the season or mood. We won’t shame ourselves for the emotional roller coaster of withdrawal from our old stand by’s and we will trust the plants have our back. But wait there’s more! We can also spring clean our spice rack in the process, find uses for the graveyard of store bought herbs wasting away in the fridge, and … drum roll please… end up with a cocktail mixer to celebrate our fresh space. It’s going to get raw, it’s going to get weird, and it’s going to feel amazing once we show ourselves it can be done. Now let’s clean this mess up… 

MULTIPURPOSE CLEANER (MPC) 

Equal parts: Plant infused vinegar* & Distilled water 

A splash of Kentucky bourbon 

Combine in a glass bottle with a spray top. Shake. 

*Plant Infused Vinegar 

In a glass jar, add plant ingredients and fill with white distilled vinegar. Allow to infuse for 1-2 weeks. Strain using a coffee filter, store in a glass bottle. 

INGREDIENTS 

Of course you can buy essential oils, however the real reward is clearing out long forgotten clutter, such as your refrigerator and cabinets, and putting your waste to work. My contributions to this experiment were a mix of wilted herbs and spices well past their expiration. Some really lovely pre-Covid vintages too. If dried spices still have a signature smell to them, there is oil to work with. Other resources are spent eucalyptus stems or dried lavender, evergreen needles from your own yard, and trimmings from overgrown herbs. Please note vinegar based cleaners can be too abrasive to use on stone, granite, or limestone. 

What plant ingredients are actually “working”? 

Aromatic plants can be a goldmine of various antiseptic, antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, and pest deterrent compounds. The majority of industrially synthesized antimicrobial agents are nothing more than a mass produced copy of these functional derivative mechanisms. My collection included lemon & orange peels (citric acid, limonene), rosemary (eucalyptol, borneol, pinene, camphor), allspice (eugenol, caryophyllene, gallic acid), ginger (shogaol, gingerol), cardamom (pinene, eucalyptol, limonene, linalool), bay (eucalyptol, eugenol, linalool, myrcene), nutmeg (eugenol, myristicin, sabinene), thyme (thymol), oregano (carvacrol, thymol), eucalyptus (methyl glycol, eucalyptol), sage (eucalyptol, camphor, borneol, viridiflorol). 

Why is there bourbon in it? 

The addition of alcohol increases the antiseptic properties of our concoction as well as provides a subtle oak base aroma to round out the scent. This is the exact approach I use for my perfume brand, ODUOAK. The majority of our functional ingredients are notorious top and heart notes, and Kentucky bourbon is our subtle anchor. 

Signature scents 

For maximum customization, prepare individual infusions of white vinegar instead of cramming a potpourri of ingredients into one jar. When your infusions are finished and strained, choose at least a combination of two to make up the vinegar volume in the final recipe. The majority of the herbs or spices you’ll encounter for your project are either top or heart notes, most functioning as either depending on their counterparts, aromatically speaking. Choosing at least two different botanicals helps build depth in the scent. This approach takes more storage space, but here’s a pleasant discovery made during this process: if your children make their own scent blends they want to use them. Wink, wink. Some of my favorite combinations are listed below if you aren’t sure where to start: 

Degreasing MPC blend #1: Eucalyptus + Lemon + Rosemary + Mint 

Degreasing MPC blend #2: Orange + Bay + Cardamom 

Bathroom blend: Rosemary + Coriander + Thyme 

About that cocktail… 

IF you are using culinary herbs and spices (not essential oils) in your vinegar infusion, then suffice to say once you steep and strain the mixture, it’s really just flavored vinegar. And safe to ingest. Whether you want to add an extra dab of bourbon or keep it a mocktail, a shrub is a sweet and tangy way to craft a celebratory beverage. 

The simplest shrub recipe follows a 1:1:1 ratio of fruit:sugar:vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is a bit more subtle than the acidic blast of white vinegar used for the infusions in this article, so if you’re not interested in scrubbing the baseboards but just want a drink…I would recommend apple cider for your shrub. You can still infuse it however you wish. The preparation for the shrub is the same regardless of most ingredients: combine the fruit, sugar, and vinegar in a medium saucepan. Stir over low/medium heat until sugar dissolves. Chill in the refrigerator. Strain the solids. To serve, add club soda to taste, or sparkling wine, or beer, or whiskey…you catch the drift. Here are some combinations using the infused white vinegar in this feature 

Orange & Ginger Vinegar + Pineapple + Raw Sugar 

Lavender & Lemon Vinegar + Blueberry + Granulated Sugar 

Allspice & Cinnamon Vinegar + Cherry + Brown Sugar