In short
Isobutyl isovalerate is a fruity ester (FEMA 3369) with a sweet apple and raspberry odour. It is found in many fruits.
What Isobutyl Isovalerate smells like
The Good Scents Company and its flavour database describe isobutyl isovalerate as sweet, fruity, apple, raspberry, green and banana at full strength, fruity, ethereal and wine-like in use. JECFA (No. 203) records it as a colourless to pale yellow liquid. PubChem links it to several natural-product databases.
- Leading note
- Fruity
- Clear facets
- Apple, raspberry
- Faint facets
- Banana, green
- Character
- Ethereal, light
What makes Isobutyl Isovalerate distinctive
An apple-raspberry ester rather than a pear or banana one.
How Isobutyl Isovalerate is used
Used for a light fruity top note in apple, berry and fruit-cocktail accords.
Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend).
How Isobutyl Isovalerate differs from similar materials
- Amyl Acetate
- Amyl acetate leans to pear and banana; isobutyl isovalerate is apple and raspberry, and wine-like in use.
- Framboise
- Framboise is a full raspberry base; isobutyl isovalerate gives only a light apple-raspberry ester note.
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
- Occurs in nature
- Odour family
- Fruity
- Note position
- Top note
- Physical form at room temperature
- Liquid
- Also known as
- Isobutyl 3-methylbutanoate
- CAS number
- 589-59-3
- Molecular formula
- C9H18O2
- Molecular weight
- 158.24 g/mol
- IUPAC name
- 2-methylpropyl 3-methylbutanoate
The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 11514, 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 (0 of 1,647 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
-
Ethyl 2-Methylbutyrate
Aroma chemical · Fruity / Green — apple, fruity, juicy, green
-
Isoamyl Acetate
Aroma chemical · Fruity / Gourmand — banana, pear drop, fruity, sweet
-
Raspberry Ketone
Aroma chemical · Fruity / Gourmand — raspberry, fruity, sweet, jammy
Used in formulas and accords
Used in 6 published formulas
Isobutyl Isovalerate is an ingredient in 2 perfume formulas and 4 accords in the Formula & Accord Library.
Community formulas
RUŌOD House Originals
Original compositions by RUŌOD House.
Further reading
Questions about Isobutyl Isovalerate
Is Isobutyl Isovalerate natural or synthetic?
The molecule occurs in nature. Commercial Isobutyl Isovalerate 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 Isobutyl Isovalerate?
589-59-3. It was checked against PubChem on 24 October 2026.
Which published formulas use Isobutyl Isovalerate?
Isobutyl Isovalerate is used in 6 published formulas in the RUŌOD Lab Formula & Accord Library, including Açaí Accord, Apple Cellar and Blackberry Accord. Each is listed with a link under "Used in formulas and accords" on this page.
Sources
- PubChem — compound 11514, checked 24 October 2026.
- PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
- Perflavory (The Good Scents Company) — isobutyl isovalerate — odour database.
- PubChem — Isobutyl isovalerate (CID 11514) — odour database.
- Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 26 October 2026. Evidence: few published descriptions; treat the detail with caution. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.