Warm, sweet, and caramelized. Maple as a perfumery note smells like the moment maple syrup hits a hot pan — brown sugar, toasted wood, and a smoky caramel richness that is distinctly North American.
Sweet, caramelized, and woody-smoky. The sweetness is darker and more complex than simple sugar — it has the burnt edges and slight bitterness of caramelized sap. The woody element is not cedar or sandalwood but raw, sappy wood — like fresh-cut timber near a sugar shack.
Sweeter and warmer than molasses, less sticky than toffee, smokier than vanilla. The closest natural comparison is heated fenugreek or sotolon in isolation.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Sweet, caramelized sap — brown sugar and smoky wood
Faint, warm, woody-sweet trace — like an empty syrup bottle
The Full Story
Maple in perfumery is a constructed accord rather than a single extracted material. The scent we associate with maple is primarily the aroma of heated maple sap (maple syrup) — a complex mixture of volatile compounds produced during the boiling process, including furanones, cyclotene, and maltol.
The key odorant in maple syrup flavor and fragrance is sotolon (4,5-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone), the same molecule responsible for the aroma of fenugreek, aged sake, and certain botrytized wines. In high concentration, sotolon smells like curry or burnt sugar; at lower levels, it reads as maple-caramel.
In fragrance construction, a maple accord typically combines sotolon or ethyl maltol with woody-smoky elements (birch tar, guaiacol) and brown sugar or caramel notes. The goal is to capture the simultaneous sweetness and woodiness that defines real maple.
Sotolon, the molecule primarily responsible for the maple syrup aroma, is also the compound behind Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD) — a rare genetic disorder where a person's urine, sweat, and earwax smell intensely of maple syrup due to a metabolic inability to process certain amino acids.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Maple is not extracted as a single natural ingredient for perfumery. The aroma is reconstructed synthetically using sotolon, ethyl maltol, cyclotene, and other furanone and lactone molecules. Maple syrup absolute exists as a rare specialty product from solvent extraction of concentrated maple sap.
Molecular Formula
complex mixture (furanone, cyclotene, maltol)
CAS Number
8016-61-3
Botanical Name
Acer saccharum
IFRA Status
No known restrictions
Synonyms
ACER · MAPLE WOOD
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
Medium
Appearance
Amber to dark brown viscous liquid
Specific Gravity
0.950 to 1.020 @ 25 °C (est)
In Perfumery
Maple functions as a gourmand heart-to-base note. It provides warm, caramelized sweetness with a woody backbone that prevents it from becoming cloying. Useful in gourmand, tobacco, and autumn-themed compositions. Key molecules for constructing maple accords include sotolon, ethyl maltol, cyclotene, and maple lactone (5-ethyl-3-hydroxy-4-methyl-2(5H)-furanone). Pairs with vanilla, tobacco, birch, and dark wood notes.
