In short
Ethyl butyrate is one of the simplest fruity esters, found in pineapple and many fruits. It gives a sweet pineapple and tutti-frutti top note.
What Ethyl Butyrate smells like
Ethyl butyrate is a light, intensely diffusive fruity ester — sweet, ethereal and broadly fruity, with pineapple and banana most often named and a general tutti-frutti character. Mosciano describes it as fruity, sweet, tutti-frutti and apple-like, fresh and lifting; Sigma-Aldrich lists ethereal, fruity, pineapple and sweet. Its odour threshold is very low and it is volatile, so its effect is an immediate burst of fruit rather than a lasting note. Sigma-Aldrich notes it is mainly used as a flavour ester, for pineapple-like flavours.
- Leading note
- Sweet, ethereal fruit
- Clear facets
- Pineapple
- Supporting facets
- Banana, apple, tutti-frutti
- Character
- Light, ethereal, sweet, diffusive
What makes Ethyl Butyrate distinctive
Its lightness. Beside the allyl esters it is less specifically pineapple and more a bright, ethereal impression of mixed fruit — tutti-frutti, apple, banana — which suits it to flavours and fruity top notes where a general juiciness is wanted rather than one defined fruit.
How Ethyl Butyrate is used
Used in small amounts in fruity top notes and fruit accords for an immediate juicy lift, and widely in flavours (pineapple, tutti-frutti and many other fruits). Its volatility means it contributes to the opening only.
Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend).
How Ethyl Butyrate differs from similar materials
- Allyl Caproate
- Allyl caproate is more specifically pineapple and fattier, with a rum nuance; ethyl butyrate is lighter, more ethereal and more generally fruity.
- Ethyl Hexanoate
- Ethyl hexanoate is fuller and more defined — pineapple and banana with a waxy, winey side; ethyl butyrate is the lighter, more ethereal tutti-frutti.
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.
Formulation considerations
Very volatile.
Identity and classification
- Type
- Aroma chemical
- Origin
- Occurs in nature
- Odour family
- Fruity / Gourmand
- Note position
- Top note
- Physical form at room temperature
- Liquid
- CAS number
- 105-54-4
- Molecular formula
- C6H12O2
- Molecular weight
- 116.16 g/mol
- IUPAC name
- ethyl butanoate
The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 7762, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 19 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 (2,073 reports): H226 flammable liquid and vapor (99.7% of reports); H319 causes serious eye irritation (13.4% of reports). 6 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
-
Allyl Caproate
Aroma chemical · Fruity / Green — pineapple, fruity, sweet
-
Isoamyl Acetate
Aroma chemical · Fruity / Gourmand — banana, pear drop, fruity, sweet
-
Ethyl 2-Methylbutyrate
Aroma chemical · Fruity / Green — apple, fruity, juicy, green
Ethyl Butyrate is also suggested as a partner on the pages for Allyl Heptanoate, Ethyl Acetate, Ethyl Acetoacetate, Ethyl Heptanoate, Isoamyl Butyrate and Propionaldehyde.
Used in formulas and accords
Used in 1 published formula
Ethyl Butyrate is an ingredient in 1 perfume formula in the Formula & Accord Library.
RUŌOD House Originals
Original compositions by RUŌOD House.
Further reading
Questions about Ethyl Butyrate
Is Ethyl Butyrate natural or synthetic?
The molecule occurs in nature. Commercial Ethyl Butyrate may be made by synthesis or obtained from natural sources, so check the supplier's specification if the distinction matters to you.
What is the CAS number of Ethyl Butyrate?
105-54-4. It was checked against PubChem on 19 October 2026.
Which published formulas use Ethyl Butyrate?
Ethyl Butyrate is used in 1 published formula in the RUŌOD Lab Formula & Accord Library: Orange Soda Sunset. Each is listed with a link under "Used in formulas and accords" on this page.
Sources
- PubChem — compound 7762, checked 19 October 2026.
- PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
- The Good Scents Company — ethyl butyrate (including Mosciano's description) — odour database.
- Sigma-Aldrich — ethyl butyrate, organoleptic profile — manufacturer's description.
- ChemicalBook — ethyl butyrate (CAS 105-54-4) — odour database.
- Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 20 October 2026. Evidence: several independent published descriptions, which agree. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.