Headspace solid‐phase microextraction and gas chromatography–olfactometry analysis of raw spirits of different organoleptic quality

The aim of this research was to determine which compounds contribute to the flavour of agricultural distillates and to indicate those compounds which are responsible for a deterioration of sensory quality. Aroma profiling was carried out by headspace solid‐phase microextraction (HS‐SPME) and gas chromatography‐olfactometry (GC–O). Aroma profiles were obtained using the fingerspan method. It was ascertained that the aroma profiles of agricultural distillates contain about 40 odours, some of which may serve in discriminatory analysis as markers of sensory quality. Some of the aroma compounds could be identified with the use of a mass spectrometer. It was found that the greatest amount of information on quality was obtained through analysis of the most intense odours detected in all or almost all samples, and that two odours formed the most radical indicators of sensory quality, being the result of the presence of two compounds, dimethyl trisulphide and geosmin.