Castoreum

Animal scent markings are notorious for smelling terrible. But castoreum is different. It has a musky smell that some people describe as vanilla mixed with a little raspberry. This scent comes from the beaver’s diet of tree bark and leaves. Castoreum is a substance produced by a beaver’s castor sacs. The castor sacs are in the same place as the anal glands of the beaver, at the base of the beaver’s tail.