Maple is a warm, sweet gourmand note that recreates the smell of maple syrup, with its toasted, caramel-like and faintly spicy depth. It comes from sweet synthetics such as cyclotene and sotolon, sometimes supported by fenugreek absolute, rather than from the tree itself. In perfume it adds an unusual, savoury-sweet richness to gourmands, ambers and tobacco compositions.

What does Maple smell like?

Maple smells like pancakes with maple syrup: sweet, woody and caramelised, with a slightly smoky, nutty warmth. At low levels it is soft and comforting; at higher concentrations its key molecule, sotolon, shifts towards fenugreek and curry, which gives the note an intriguing savoury edge. It is related to the maple-like facet found in immortelle (helichrysum), which perfumers often use to reinforce it.

How perfumers create Maple

Maple syrup is boiled from the sap of sugar maples (Acer saccharum), but the syrup is not extracted for perfume. Perfumers recreate its aroma with cyclotene, also called maple lactone, which has a sweet burnt-sugar and maple scent, and with sotolon, a potent molecule that smells of maple syrup at trace levels. Fenugreek absolute, rich in sotolon, and immortelle absolute can add natural depth, and vanillin and ethyl maltol round the sweetness.

• Also known as: Maple syrup, sugar maple
• Fragrance family: Gourmand
• Type: Accord (created by the perfumer)
• Key aroma molecules: Sotolon, cyclotene (maple lactone), maltol

Maple in perfume history

Maple has little perfume history of its own. Its key molecule, sotolon, is also found in fenugreek, lovage, aged rum and sherry, and a cloud of fenugreek-derived sotolon was eventually blamed for the mysterious maple syrup smell that drifted over Manhattan from 2005.

Maple in modern perfumery

Maple is used mostly by niche and artisanal perfumers and in home fragrance, often to add a toasty sweetness to woody, smoky or tobacco accords. Its savoury edge makes it a clever alternative to vanilla or caramel.

How Maple wears and what it pairs with

Maple is a heart-to-base note that lasts well. It pairs with immortelle, tobacco and leather, smoky woods and birch tar, coffee, pecan and walnut, and vanilla.