Geraniol: Rose Aroma, Facts, CAS Number and Uses in Flavour

What is geraniol?

Geraniol is a colourless to pale yellow oily liquid made of ten carbon atoms. Chemists call it a monoterpenoid alcohol: it is built from two isoprene units joined head to tail, then finished with a hydroxyl (alcohol) group at one end. Its formula is C10H18O and its molecular weight is 154.25 g/mol, according to PubChem’s geraniol record.

The name comes from geranium, whose oil has a similar scent. Unlike limonene or pinene, geraniol is not a pure hydrocarbon. The alcohol group makes it a terpenoid, which is why it smells soft and floral where the hydrocarbons smell sharp and fresh. Its biological building block, geranyl pyrophosphate, is also the starting point for other common terpenes such as myrcene.

If you are new to the topic, our guide to what terpenes are covers the basics before the detail below.

What does geraniol smell like?

Geraniol smells sweet, floral and rosy. PubChem lists its odour as a sweet rose with a pleasant, geranium-like character, and perfumers also describe a waxy, fruity and faintly citrus edge. It is a rounder, softer smell than the sharp citrus of limonene.

How a geraniol-led aroma reads depends on what sits beside it:

• Alone: sweet rose petals with a slight lemony lift.
• With citrus notes: a lemon-blossom or rose-lemon character.
• With fruit notes: a ripe, juicy impression, which is why it is used in peach, raspberry and plum flavours.
• With creamy or sugary notes: a Turkish-delight or rose-sweet impression.

Where is geraniol found in nature?

Geraniol occurs in many essential oils, and it is a main component of rose, palmarosa and citronella oils. PubChem also lists it in lemongrass and lavender, among other aromatic plants, and it is given off by the flowers of many species. In geranium oil and lemon oil it occurs in smaller amounts.

Rose oil is a good example of why single-molecule thinking can mislead. Real rose oil is a blend that includes geraniol, citronellol and others, and the smell people call “rose” is the combination. A product built on geraniol alone will smell rosy, but not like a full rose.

Geraniol is also a plant metabolite that appears in smaller amounts across many species. Natural amounts vary with plant variety, region and extraction method, so there is no single figure for how much any one plant holds.

What are the key facts about geraniol?

The table below puts geraniol next to four related molecules so you can compare the numbers. Data comes from PubChem records for each molecule, and boiling points are rounded.

A few more figures help with handling. Geraniol has a density of about 0.889 g/mL, so it is lighter than water. Its closed-cup flash point is about 108 C. It is only slightly soluble in water, at roughly 100 mg/L at 25 C, but mixes with ethanol and with oils.

How is geraniol different from linalool, nerol and citral?

Geraniol is closely related to several other floral and lemon molecules, and the differences are small but audible. Linalool has exactly the same formula, C10H18O, but a different layout of atoms, which gives it a lighter, lavender-like smell. Nerol is geraniol’s geometric twin (the cis form of the same double bond), and it smells fresher and slightly greener.

Citral is geraniol’s close cousin. Oxidising geraniol gives the aldehyde geranial, one of the two forms of citral, and the result smells of sharp lemon rather than soft rose. That is why our citral guide is a natural next read, and why a geraniol-led product can drift toward lemon as it ages.

Citronellol has two more hydrogen atoms than geraniol. It smells fresh and rosy, and is often blended with geraniol in rose-style aromas. If you work with one of these molecules, expect to meet the others.

How is geraniol sourced?

Commercial geraniol is mostly obtained from essential oils such as palmarosa and citronella, or made by the chemical industry from other terpene raw materials. In both cases the product is refined to the specification a buyer needs. Because it is a standard fragrance and flavouring ingredient, it is widely available.

In flavour and aroma work, geraniol reaches a finished profile in one of three ways:

• Isolated or purified: the single molecule, used as a building block.
• Present in a whole plant extract: geraniol alongside the other molecules the plant made, as in cannabis-derived terpenes (CDTs).
• Present in a botanical blend: geraniol combined with other botanical-derived terpenes (BDTs) to recreate a target aroma.

Which route suits you depends on whether you want a single clean rose note or a layered, natural-smelling profile. A layered profile usually smells more natural, while an isolated note is more predictable. The Wikipedia entry on geraniol gives a short overview of its common uses in perfumery and food flavouring.

Which Elite Terpenez profiles have a floral or rose-led aroma?

Elite Terpenez sells profiles with floral and rose-like notes across the Infused, Flavour Infused, Premium and Classic Strains lines. We do not state the contents of any profile, so the table shows each profile’s listed aroma notes only. Profiles with a floral aroma such as these are a good place to start:

For a clear rose direction, start with Pink Goddess. For a fruit-led floral lift, look at Lovely Lychee or Sundrenched Moscato, and for a strain-style floral with citrus, look at Ghost Train Haze. To browse more, see the Infused Terpenes, Flavour Infused and Premium Line collections, or the full Flavour Catalogue.

For cannabinoid content of any profile other than the Diamond Line, contact us and we will confirm before you order. Diamond Line terpenes contain no THC or other cannabinoids.

What does geraniol pair with?

Geraniol is a good team player, and many popular flavours are floral or rosy notes layered over something else. Use these pairings as a guide when you plan a blend or choose between profiles:

These are separate profiles from the Elite range, each with its own listed notes. They show the direction of the pairing and say nothing about what any bottle contains. For a woody counterpoint to floral notes, our pinene guide covers the pine side of the aroma wheel.

How do makers use geraniol for flavour and aroma?

Makers use floral and rose-led profiles to give a product a soft, perfumed top note. Floral directions are popular in beverages, confectionery-style flavours and premium-feeling products, because rose reads as delicate and a little luxurious. They also pair easily with fruit, cream and citrus.

A few practical points:

• Go lightly: floral notes carry far, and too much can turn soapy or perfumed in a way that reads as cosmetic rather than flavour.
• Build, do not stack: pair a floral profile with fruit or cream to avoid a flat, single-note result.
• Test small: run a small batch, wait a day, and re-smell it before scaling.
• Expect drift: geraniol can oxidise in air, and aged floral can lose its softness.

What are the starting cuts and handling rules?

Terpene profiles are concentrated and must never be used undiluted. Elite Terpenez’s starting cuts are 6% for vape cartridges, 4% for concentrates, 2% for tinctures, 1% for edibles, 0.5% for beverages and 3% for topicals. Use the terpene mixing calculator to turn a percentage into a weight, and always test a small batch first.

Geraniol has a notable hazard profile. PubChem’s classification lists it as a skin irritant that can cause an allergic skin reaction and serious eye damage in many notifications. Wear gloves and eye protection, keep it away from children, pets, heat and flames, and work in a ventilated space. For general workplace guidance, see the HSE’s COSHH basics. Products are for adults (18+) only.

Storage

Store terpene bottles tightly closed in a cool, dark place; refrigerated is ideal. Light, warmth and air speed up oxidation, so a half-empty bottle left open will lose its freshness faster than a full, closed one. Decant what you need and reseal promptly.

If a floral profile starts to smell sharp, lemony or flat rather than soft and rosy, it has probably aged, and it is better to test a fresh bottle than to adjust your recipe to compensate. Label the date you opened each bottle so you can track how long it has been in use.

Sizes and bulk

Profiles come in 2 ml, 5 ml and 10 ml bottles. For larger runs, ask about bulk on the wholesale and bulk page. Free UK delivery on orders over £80.

Frequently asked questions

Ready to build a floral flavour? Browse the Infused, Flavour Infused and Premium ranges, order samples in 2 ml bottles, or contact us for bulk quantities and to confirm anything about a profile before you order.