Ethyl vanillin

Say itETH-il vuh-NIL-in

Intense sweet vanilla with a creamy, faintly chocolate-like edge.

What it is: A molecule made in a lab.
Where it comes from: not found in nature; made from catechol
When you smell it: Dry-down: hours later.
What perfumers do with it: About three times stronger than vanillin; the sweet heart of many orientals.
Worth knowing: Legend says Jacques Guerlain conceived Shalimar by pouring ethyl vanillin into a bottle of Jicky.
Known in: Shalimar (Guerlain, 1925)
Also called: 3-Ethoxy-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde; bourbonal

Not on the label of any of the 232 perfumes read so far.

Sources