An efficient route to (Z)-(8-benzyloxy-8-oxooct-3-en-1-yl) triphenylphosphonium iodide, or BOTPPI, is disclosed, complete with full experimental details, NMR spectra, and HRMS data. BOTPPI serves as a surrogate for (Z)-(8-methoxy-8-oxooct-3-en-1-yl) triphenylphosphonium iodide, or MOTPPI, a Wittig salt previously used in two 12-HETE syntheses. BOTPPI has the advantage over MOTPPI of being derived from a sequence for which every intermediate is ...