Ethyl Linolenate may smell just like the back of a cupboard, but I can assure you that it won't stay at the back of yours. 
 
 
I should say more. There's something so nostalgically oily about it . It also recalls the outside of a walnut or even the taste of paper. Linolenate esters, that is, compounds formed from the esterification of linolenic acid, are commonplace in nature and therefore the associations come very willingly.
 
In perfumery the uses are likewise widespread to those who know how to deploy them. Genuinely, if there are five molecules in perfumery that changed the way I make perfumes, Linolenates would be one. 
 
In terms of the differences with methyl Linolenate, let me discuss two of them briefly.
 
In terms of origin, this Ethyl Linolenate is made by esterification of  fractions of Linseed oil. As such, under US legislation it would be classed as natural, and under EU legislation it would be classed as semi-natural or fully natural depending on who you ask. As far as I'm concerned, reacting ethanol with a seed oil has been going on accidentally or deliberately for thousands of years, so in my book they're about as natural as it gets.
 
The other difference is more subtle in terms of odour. For one, ethyl Linolenate lasts slightly longer than the methyl counterpart. It's a little bit less fatty and a little bit more woody. There's just that slight edge of structure where the methyl Linolenate is more soft and floral. The ethyl Linolenate is more present, very much suited to things like sesame accords, nut, and gourmand notes, as well as anywhere you'd want to add a touch of naturalcy to a wood note (or natural sea to a driftwood note).
 
Try, for example, some synthetic woody materials (although avoid woody ambers here), and then a whopping great 10 to 20% dose of this material and you'll see exactly what I mean