whitepaper

Application note: Key bourbon odorants found by Aroma Dilution Analysis

Solvent free determination of flavor dilution (FD) factors of key odorants in bourbon: Aroma Dilution Analysis combined with a novel analysis software.

GC-MS/Olfactometry (GC-MS/O) is used to identify key aroma impact compounds in beverages. Their relative odor potency has traditionally been determined by Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis (AEDA) based on stepwise dilutions and successive evaluations by GC-O arriving at the flavor dilution (FD) factor, i.e. the maximum dilution at which a compound can be detected. A similar approach is Aroma Dilution Analysis (ADA) in which serial dilutions are performed by increasing the GC inlet split ratio stepwise. In this work, aroma dilution analysis of a Kentucky bourbon was used to identify key aroma impact compounds with an FD factor of 201. The solvent free Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction (SBSE) technique was used in combination with thermal desorption and olfactory detection. (ADA-SBSE-TD-GC-MS/O). A novel Olfactory Data Interpreter (ODI) software provided simplified processing of GC-MS/O data while generating AEDA-like reports without further external data processing.