In short
Butyl butyryllactate is a lactate ester used as a dairy flavouring. JECFA describes a sweet-sour, buttermilk odour.
What Butyl Butyryllactate smells like
JECFA, as published by PubChem, describes butyl butyryllactate as a colourless to pale yellow liquid with a sweet-sour, buttermilk odour. Sigma-Aldrich's food-grade listing gives butter, cheese, creamy and waxy, and Gerard Mosciano's 1992 evaluation, as Perflavory reproduces it, sweet, fruity, buttery, creamy and fatty with a brown fatty nuance; PubChem links it to no natural-product database.
- Leading note
- Buttermilk
- Supporting facets
- Sour, sweet
What makes Butyl Butyryllactate distinctive
Cultured dairy rather than sweet cream: buttermilk with a sour edge.
How Butyl Butyryllactate is used
Used for creamy, buttery and dairy effects in gourmand accords.
Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend).
How Butyl Butyryllactate differs from similar materials
- Butter CO2 Extract
- Butter CO2 extract is real butter, creamy and milky; butyl butyryllactate is sour, cultured dairy.
- Milk Lactone
- Milk lactone is milky with a green, cheesy side; butyl butyryllactate is sourer and more buttery.
Each difference compares the published descriptions of the two materials. Smell varies with grade, supplier and dilution; compare them side by side on blotters before substituting one for another.
Identity and classification
- Type
- Aroma chemical
- Origin
- Synthetic
- Odour family
- Gourmand
- Note position
- Heart to base note
- Physical form at room temperature
- Liquid
- Also known as
- Butyl butyrolactate, Butyl butyryl lactate
- CAS number
- 7492-70-8
- Molecular formula
- C11H20O4
- Molecular weight
- 216.27 g/mol
- IUPAC name
- (1-butoxy-1-oxopropan-2-yl) butanoate
The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 24114, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 24 October 2026.
Safety and compliance
Hazard classification of the neat substance, as PubChem summarises it, read 26 October 2026. Companies notifying the ECHA C&L Inventory report it as not meeting the GHS hazard criteria (1,576 of 1,618 reports). Unless it is harmonised, this is the notifiers' own classification, not a binding one.
This page is general information, not a safety assessment or a specification. Confirm identity, composition, IFRA status and allergen content from your supplier's documents for the lot you hold.
Materials it works with
-
delta-Decalactone
Aroma chemical · Gourmand / Fruity — creamy, milky, coconut, buttery
-
gamma-Octalactone
Aroma chemical · Gourmand / Fruity — coconut, creamy, sweet, herbal
-
Vanillin
Aroma chemical · Gourmand / Amber — vanilla, sweet, creamy
Used in formulas and accords
Used in 3 published formulas
Butyl Butyryllactate is an ingredient in 1 perfume formula and 2 accords in the Formula & Accord Library.
Community formulas
RUŌOD House Originals
Original compositions by RUŌOD House.
Further reading
Questions about Butyl Butyryllactate
Is Butyl Butyryllactate natural or synthetic?
Butyl Butyryllactate is synthetic — it is made by chemical synthesis.
What is the CAS number of Butyl Butyryllactate?
7492-70-8. It was checked against PubChem on 24 October 2026.
Which published formulas use Butyl Butyryllactate?
Butyl Butyryllactate is used in 3 published formulas in the RUŌOD Lab Formula & Accord Library: Cardamom Crema, Horchata Accord and Root Beer Float Accord. Each is listed with a link under "Used in formulas and accords" on this page.
Sources
- PubChem — compound 24114, checked 24 October 2026.
- PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
- PubChem — Butyl butyryllactate (CID 24114): JECFA organoleptic description — odour database.
- Sigma-Aldrich — butyl butyryllactate (W219002) — manufacturer's description.
- Perflavory — butyl butyryl lactate (with Mosciano's evaluation) — odour database.
- Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 26 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.