Bay Tincture & Alcohol-Free Extract

Bay (Laurus nobilis), the bay laurel or sweet bay, is an evergreen tree or large shrub of the laurel family, Lauraceae, native to the Mediterranean basin from Spain and Morocco to Turkey and Syria, and widely grown as a clipped ornamental and kitchen herb. It reaches 10 to 18 meters in the wild with smooth grey bark, leathery, glossy, dark green lance-shaped leaves with wavy edges, and small clusters of pale yellow flowers in spring, followed on female trees by shiny black berries. The leaves smell warmly spicy and camphor-like when torn; they season soups and stews, and the ancient Greeks wove them into wreaths. We extract the dried leaf.