4.6 Article

Identification of Rotundone as an Important Contributor to the Flavor of Oak-Aged Spirits

Journal

MOLECULES
Volume 26, Issue 14, Pages -

Publisher

MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/molecules26144368

Keywords

flavor; rotundone; whiskey; gas chromatography-olfactometry; stable isotope dilution

Funding

  1. National Institute of Food Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture [ILLU-698-366]

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Experiments identified rotundone as the compound responsible for the spicy, woody, incense-like odor note in oak-aged spirits. Analysis showed that the content of rotundone increased with years of barrel aging, confirming its origin to be from oak. Odor-activity values comparison indicated the relative importance of rotundone in the overall flavor of oak-aged spirits.
Experiments were conducted to identify a compound responsible for a spicy, woody, incense-like odor note in oak-aged spirits. The target compound was extracted from oak wood and various oak-aged spirits and analyzed by multidimensional (heart-cut) gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry (MD-GC-MS-O), and was unambiguously identified as the sesquiterpene ketone, 5-isopropenyl-3,8-dimethyl-3,4,5,6,7,8-hexadydro-1(2H)-azulenone (rotundone). Quantitation of the trace-level target compound was done by stable isotope dilution analysis (SIDA) in a variety of oak-aged spirits, including bourbon, rye, Tennessee whiskey, scotch, rum, and tequila. The content of rotundone was found to increase as a function of years of barrel aging for 4-, 8-, and 12-year-old bourbons obtained from the same manufacturer, thus confirming its origin to be from oak. In addition, odor-activity values (OAVs) were compared for selected potent odorants, including rotundone, in the same 4-, 8-, and 12-year-old bourbons, which indicated the relative importance of rotundone in the overall flavor of oak-aged spirits.

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