Characterization of Cider Brandy on the Basis of Aging Time

To characterize cider brandies on the basis of age, chemometric techniques (principal component analysis, linear discriminant analysis, and Bayesean analysis) together with contents of volatile, furanic, and phenolic compounds were used. Significant principal components computed by a double cross‐validation procedure allowed us to visualize the structure of the database as a function of the aging time to which the cider brandies had been subjected. Feasible and robust discriminant rules were computed and validated by a cross‐validation procedure that allowed suitable classification of fresh and aged brandies, obtaining classification hits >; 90%. The most discriminant variables for characterizing cider brandies according to their aging level were as follows: ethyl caprylate > ethyl isovalerate > 1‐propanol > hexyl acetate.