Fusel oils in ciders and perries

The amounts of higher aliphatic alcohols in the ciders and perries studied ranged from 116 to 255 p.p.m.; certain samples contained in addition about 100 p.p.m. of 2‐phenylethanol. The production of these compounds in ciders and perries is discussed. Estimates of fusel oil content by gas chromatography were compared with those given by a colorimetric method. Where distillates contained mainly butanols and pentanols, the two methods were in good agreement. The higher values given by some samples in the colorimetric estimation were attributed to the presence of other components: 2‐phenylethanol and tyrosol were found to be responsible for some of the discrepancy.