Characterization of Flavor Compounds in Distilled Spirits: Developing a Versatile Analytical Method Suitable for Micro-Distilleries

Over the last few years, the development of micro-distilleries producing diverse spirits with various flavors has been observed. Versatile analytical techniques for the characterization of aroma compounds in such alcoholic beverages are therefore required. A model mixture embodying a theoretical distilled spirit was made according to the data found in literature to compare usual extraction techniques. When it was applied to the model liquor, the headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) extraction method was preferred to the liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), solid phase extraction (SPE) and stir bar/headspace sorptive extraction (SBSE/HSSE) methods according to efficiency, cost, and environmental criteria. An optimization study using the model mixture showed that the extraction was optimal with a divinylbenzene/carboxen/poly(dimethylsiloxane) DVB/CAR/PDMS fiber, during 60 min, at 35 °C and with the addition of 10% NaCl. This method was successfully applied to three different commercial liquors and led to the identification of 188 flavor compounds, including alcohols, esters, lactones, carbonyls, acetals, fatty acids, phenols, furans, aromatics, terpenoids, alkenes, and alkanes.