Monk Oil Mayhem

What’s the olfactory equivalent of word of mouth? Whatever you call it, that’s how I discovered Monk Oil—I caught a whiff of it on a friend at a recent cocktail party. And apparently it is also what accounts for the burgeoning success of the brew, which was concocted by friends Katie Ryan Roth and Monika Stanislawek (whose respective day jobs are artist and teacher). “Monk oil came about after we went on our annual camping trip out in the Pacific Northwest,” explain the duo, who were experiencing difficulties reentering into urban life. “We wondered how to create that feeling of calm, inner stability and harmony with the outer world while still being in the city. Monk Oil was imagined with a blend of ingredients to support the body, the soul, and the spirit.” Said ingredients include organic essential oils of cedar, lavender and rose as well as yarrow flower essence which sooth, focus, energize, and offer protection from toxic environmental influences. And each bottle contains a rose quartz crystal—“the stone,” they point out, “of unconditional love.” Like many Monk Oil converts, I just liked how it smells.