Evaluation of congeners in cachaça aged in French and American oak: comparison of aging in barrels and interaction with wood chips

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the behavior of volatile and maturation congeners in cachaça aged by two different process: the conventional process in oak barrels and the maturing process of the interaction by spirit with fragments of oak wood. The study also aims to determine the characteristic components of French sessile oak (Quercus petraea) and American white oak (Quercus alba) by recognition of the molecular structure of the major compounds. For the conventional test, samples of cachaça will be aged in French and American oak casks 225L for two years. The effect of the interaction process with fragments of the spirit will be evaluated during two months. Sensory comparative tests will be applied at the end of the process. The volatile chemical compounds analyzed by GC-FID (gas chromatography) are: acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate, methanol, propanol, iso-butanol, n-butanol, sec-butanol, isoamyl alcohol and acetic acid. The chemical compounds analyzed by HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) are: vanillin, syringaldehyde, vanillic acid, sinapaldeído, syringic acid, coniferaldehyde, furfural, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and gallic acid and ellagic acid. The major compounds of each type of oak will be identified along other components of the flavor of aged distillates by GC-MS analysis (gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometer, scan mode) and recognition of the molecular structure by comparing the spectra with an internal library to flavor, fragrance and natural compounds. (AU)