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7/27/2019 The chemistry of casks Part 2 _ Production _ bourbon, chemistry, cognac, Oak maturation, rum, whiskey, whisky
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/7/12mistry, cognac, Oak maturation, rum, whis
ww.liquorpress.com/2011/03/01/the-chemistry-of-casks--part-2/
The first part of this series of articles covered oak casks and their central role in the
development of a spirits taste. This article will take a closer look at the compounds and
substances that determine the character and the aroma of spirit s.
If taste and scent of spirits such as whisky, cognac, rum, etc. are to be described, a distinction
can be made between smoky and fruity, floral and woody as well as between sweet or salty, justto give a few examples. T his wide v ariety of different tastes is due to, in the case of whiskies for
example, more than 300 volatile chemical substances. Although some of these substances differ
substantially in their chemical makeup, the majority of them can be classified as members of the
known groups of chemicals. It can be shown that compounds belonging to the phenols or
lactones play an especially vital role in developing the aroma and taste of whiskies. But
aldehydes, organic acids and their salts significantly contribute as well. As the final taste of a
spirits is influenced by almost every step of its production process, it is not always possible to
determine exactlywhich step introduces a given substance to be analysed. But it has been
shown that storage in wooden casks is by far the most important process for developing the
taste of spirits by imparting the distillatewith important and characteristic f lavour-carriers. In
this process, several substances in the wood of the cask are dissolved, the most notable of those
being decomposition products of polysaccharides, triglycerides and lignin. Sensoryexamination and various chromatographic tests are employed to differentiate between these
chemical substances. These assays showed the concentration of flavour-carrying phenolic
compounds to be higher in the spirits that matured a longer time in wooden casks than in those
that had only been in brief contact with the wood. The following list contains some of the
substances that have been proven to be the most significant for a whiskeys taste. The whiskey
analysed was bourbon whiskey. The most important flavour-carriers of Scotch and Irish
whiskies are with some variat ions in concentration the same as in bourbon whiskies,
however, as all three spirits mature in
oak casks. (Image: sashafatcat/Flickr )
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The substances listed are part of the regular chemical groups. Among these, the most significant
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are the lactones, a group that also includes a substance called whisky-lactone or quercus-
lactone. This lactone received its non-scientific name based on the fact that it had only been
discovered when cask-matured spirits were
analysed; larger quantities of this component
were first discov ered in whiskey. During
sensory examination, it is characterised by
coconut aromas. Another vital lactone is -
nonalactone, imparting the distillate with
apricot, lavender and orchid aromas.
Among the aldehydes, the substance with the most profound influence on the taste is syringa
aldehyde, which is ascribed with tangy and smoky notes. These are complemented by distinct
aromas and a taste of smouldering wood. In addition to this substances contribution to scent
and taste of the distillate, it also exhibits antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Other notable
aldehydes are vanillin, eugenoland guaiacol. Vanillin gives spirits and many other foodstuffs
v anilla flavours, whereas eugenol adds typical clover aromas to the distillate and guaiacol is
primarily characterised as having a smoky and sweet taste.
The final major group of substances influencing the taste of whiskies are rose ketones. This is an
umbrella term for several substances that belong to the damascenones , damascones or
ionones. The non-scientific name rose ketones is due to the high concentration of these
compounds in Damask roses (Rosa damascena). Although the combined concentration of rose
ketones in rose oils is only 0.1 5%, these substances nevertheless have a profound influence onthe general scent of these oils. In general, these substances are among the most odoriferous
organic compounds in the world. A common sensory property of rose ketones is a tangy scent
of exotic flowers, blackcurrant as well as green and black tea. In whiskeys, however, this aroma
predominantly creates a sensation of baked apples.
The third part of the series The Chemistry of Casks will show why oak chips cannot replace
oak casks in the maturing of spirits and how the taste of the final product would be altered, even
though casks and chips are of the same material.
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Related posts:
1. The chemistry of c asks Part 1
2. The chemistry of c asks Part 3: Wood chips vs. Casks
3. Aromatic substances of whisky : Syringaldehy de and Syringa acid
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Tagged with: bourbon chemistry cognac Oak maturation rum whiskey whisky
3 Responses to the chemistry of casks part 2
Dg says:0 3 /0 1 / 20 1 1 a t 9 : 3 5 P M
Thanks Phillip for writing on my favorite subjec t
REPLY
Philip Reim says:0 3 /0 2/ 20 1 1 a t 1 : 4 7 P M
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Y oure welc ome! There a re a lot of th ese art icles y et t o c ome.
REPLY
The chemistry of casks Part 1 says:04/04/201 1 at 5 :49 PM
[...] second part of The chemistry of casks will describe and analyse these
compounds more closely. It will show that all the notable [...]
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