Sensory properties of milk are crucial to its consumer appeal. Milk heat treatment and composition (fat and protein) impact sensory properties and consumer liking. Higher heat treatments associated with extended shelf life (ESL) are not preferred over traditional high temperature short time (HTST) pasteurized milk by most consumers, conceptually or by tasting. The fat content of milk is the most readily adjusted compositional factor of milk. Fat plays a multi modal role in the sensory properties of milk, providing appearance cues but also mouthfeel and flavor properties that have varying appeal to different consumer segments. Finally, the sensory properties of milk can also be adjusted by altering protein content and casein:true protein ratio. Cooked/sulfur and cardboard flavors, viscosity and throat cling can be increased with protein content (3.00, 3.67, 4.34, and 5.00%; P < 0.05) while increased casein as a percentage of true protein (5, 25, 50, 75, and 80%) can be applied to decrease cardboard flavor and astringency (P < 0.05) and to increase cooked/milky, cooked/sulfur and throat cling (P < 0.05). These results demonstrate that heat treatment and fat influence sensory properties of traditional milk, but also that membrane fractionation can be applied to optimize physical and sensory properties of milk beverages.