Hungary Water
When first hearing Hungary Water, it may literally sound like water from Hungary. However, it refers to Queen of Hungary Water in perfumery, which was the first alcohol-based perfume to appear in historical records.
People dispute how and why this perfume was created. The most well-known legend states that it was created for Queen Elizabeth to treat a medical condition. While there’s no confirmed connection between Queen Elizabeth and Hungary Water, it became an important advancement in perfumery.
The distillation of alcohol was developed in 1370 by Islamic perfumers. The use of alcohol gave lightness in the fragrance, which was not available previously. The fragrance was a mixture of herbs in nature like rosemary and rhyme. Due to the herbs, it was also used as a skin tonic to treat acne and eczema. Nowadays, there are essential oils and fixatives added to increase the longevity of the fragrance.
There are different recipes of how to recreate the Hungary Water nowadays. G.W. Septimus Piesse includes alcohol, rosemary, lemon peel, balm, mint, “espirit de rose,” and extract of fleur d’orange. Other recipes include different ingredients like lavender, chamomile, and roses. This is Crabtree and Evelyn’s version of the Hungary Water.
Although it’s difficult to perfectly recreate the original Hungary Water, there are multiple recipes to recreate the first-alcohol perfume that revolutionized perfumery. Without Hungary Water, we wouldn’t have modern perfumes.
