In short
Dimethyl benzyl carbinyl butyrate (DMBCB) is a synthetic ester. JECFA describes its aroma as mild, herbaceous and fruity.
What Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Butyrate smells like
JECFA describes dimethyl benzyl carbinyl butyrate as a colourless liquid with a mild, herbaceous, fruity aroma. Fraterworks describes a sweet floral-fruity material with a plum-like richness — floral, fruity, plum, green and prune — deeper and softer than DMBCA, with a lush, rounded edge.
- Leading note
- Fruity
- Supporting facets
- Herbaceous
- Character
- Mild, soft
What makes Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Butyrate distinctive
The plum-like member of the dimethyl benzyl carbinyl esters: deeper and softer than the acetate, as Fraterworks compares them.
How Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Butyrate is used
Fraterworks uses it to enhance fruity-floral accords, to add depth to rose compositions and to give a natural-seeming fruitiness.
Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend); blender (smooths the joins between other materials).
How Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Butyrate differs from similar materials
- Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Acetate
- Fraterworks finds the butyrate deeper and softer than DMBCA, with a lush, rounded, plum-like edge. (compared directly by a cited source)
An asterisk marks a difference that a cited source states directly. The others compare the published descriptions of each material. 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
- Fruity / Aromatic
- Note position
- Heart note
- Physical form at room temperature
- Liquid
- Also known as
- DMBCB, 1,1-Dimethyl-2-phenylethyl butyrate
- CAS number
- 10094-34-5
- Molecular formula
- C14H20O2
- Molecular weight
- 220.31 g/mol
- IUPAC name
- (2-methyl-1-phenylpropan-2-yl) butanoate
The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 24915, 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 classify it (2,051 reports): H411 toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects (87.4% of reports). 37 of the reports find it does not meet the hazard criteria. 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
-
Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Acetate
Aroma chemical · Fruity / Floral — fruity, pear, floral, plum
-
Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinol
Aroma chemical · Floral / Green — floral, lilac, herbal, earthy
-
Hedione
Aroma chemical · Floral / Citrus — jasmine, transparent, citrus, airy
Used in formulas and accords
Used in 6 published formulas
Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Butyrate is an ingredient in 5 accords and 1 base in the Formula & Accord Library.
Further reading
Questions about Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Butyrate
Is Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Butyrate natural or synthetic?
Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Butyrate is synthetic — it is made by chemical synthesis.
What is the CAS number of Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Butyrate?
10094-34-5. It was checked against PubChem on 24 October 2026.
Which published formulas use Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Butyrate?
Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Butyrate is used in 6 published formulas in the RUŌOD Lab Formula & Accord Library, including Açaí Accord, Cranberry Base and Dried Fruits Accord. Each is listed with a link under "Used in formulas and accords" on this page.
Sources
- PubChem — compound 24915, checked 24 October 2026.
- PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
- PubChem — Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Butyrate (CID 24915): JECFA organoleptic description — odour database.
- Fraterworks — Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Butyrate — distributor's description.
- 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.