Identification of Volatile Compounds in Raw Spirits of Different Organoleptic Quality

The main purpose of the research was to determine the composition of the volatile fraction of raw spirits, as well as isolation of the aroma profiles for spirits differing in their sensory properties. Profiles were created using a headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technique (GC-MS). The results indicated the presence of over 200 compounds, of which significant numbers were identified. The most significant groups included esters, higher alcohols, aldehydes, acetals, as well as furans, sulphur compounds, terpenoids and benzene derivatives. Among the above-mentioned compounds, over 50 were identified whose presence or high content could decrease the quality of the distillates. In particular, this pertains to higher quantities of compounds such as acetals and certain esters, as well as the two compounds, dimethyl trisulphide and geosmin. Aside from the dependence between volatile composition and the sensory quality, differences between distillates originating from different distilleries were observed.