![]() But a few people go actively looking for it, and Pat Lillis is one of those people. ![]() ![]() Most people who find ambergris stumble upon it by chance. It's surreal – and probably the most fun I've had since getting into perfume. It's a balmy 25 degrees outside (unusual for Ireland) and while my husband and children paddle in the sea, Pat and I examine the greyish-brownish lumps together, sniffing them, poking them with hot needles, and even crumbling bits off into our coffee. It's May 2016, and we're sitting in the bar at Stella Maris Hotel in Kilkee, County Clare. ![]() I wonder if he's worried about security, but he tells me that this is only a fraction of his stash, and that the rest is in a “secure location.” With the type of money involved in ambergris, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a steel bunker under his vegetable patch. Pat Lillis, the man who has placed it there, just gives him a wink. “Are those your rocks, Pat?” asks the bartender when he brings us our drinks, staring at what must be over €10,000 worth of ambergris spread across the table. Image: Claire VukcevicĪ primer on what ambergris is and isn't, plus a list of reference ambergris fragrances and attars ![]()
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