title: Determination of key odorant compounds in freshly distilled cognac using GC-O, GC-MS, and sensory evaluation.
abstract: This aim of this work was to identify the odorant compounds responsible for the typical sensory descriptors attributed to freshly distilled Cognac spirits, not matured in barrels. Panelists were first selected and trained for gas chromatography-olfactometry. Among the 150 volatile compounds identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, only 34 are mainly responsible for the odors detected in the spirits. The "butter" descriptor is explained by the presence of diacetyl, the "hay" descriptor by nerolidol, the "grass" descriptor mainly by Z-3-hexen-1-ol, but also by other compounds, the "pear" and "banana" descriptors by 2- and 3-methylbutyl acetates, the "rose" descriptor by 2-phenylethyl acetate, and the "lime tree" descriptor by linalool. This study demonstrated that many odorant molecules are already present in freshly distilled Cognac, thereby giving the spirit its specific aroma.
authors.affiliation: Station Viticole du BNIC, 69 rue de Bellefonds, 16100 Cognac, France. gferrari@bnic.fr
authors.forename: Gérald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: Odile
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lablanquie
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cantagrel
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ledauphin
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Payot
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fournier
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guichard
mesh_terms: D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000032:analysis*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D009812:Odorants / Q000032:analysis*; D012903:Smell