.The first fraction. Drawn from the still in the opening hours of distillation, when the most volatile aromatic compounds enter the condenser. Para methyl cresol and the lighter esters dominant. The lightest, most floral, most rarefied of the ylang grades — and the one fine perfumers reach for. Chanel No. 5 and Joy by Patou are built around this fraction.
Ylang ylang is the only essential oil distilled in fractions. Most oils are taken from the still as a single run. Ylang is different. Over fifteen to twenty hours of continuous steam distillation, the distiller draws off the oil at intervals. Each fraction is bottled separately. Each carries a different register of the same flower — chemically, aromatically, and in application, distinct substances.
For fine perfumery and the lightest top-note work, Extra is the grade. For comparative olfactory study, place alongside grades II, III and Complete to experience what fractional distillation does to a single botanical.