Chemical characteristics of Sliwowica Lacka and other plum brandies

BACKGROUND: Sliwowica Lacka is a strong, distilled, home-made plum brandy produced in a submontane region of Poland. The aim of the present study was to determine the chemical composition of this alcoholic beverage (samples from the years 2001-2004) and compare it with that of other plum brandies. Gas chromatography and spectrophotometry methods were used to detect major volatile components. RESULTS: Home-made Polish plum brandies generally contained more ethanol (64.7-72.5% v/v), methanol (5.59-8.74 g L(-1)100 degrees) and butanol (32-335 mg L(-1)100 degrees) and less isobutanol (406-491 mg L(-1)100 degrees) pentanol (4.3-14.9 mg L(-1)100 degrees) and 2-phenylethanol (61-68 mg L(-1)100 degrees) than other samples. The amyl alcohols/1-propanol and isobutanol/1-propanol ratios might be used as indices to distinguish spontaneously fermented plum brandies from those produced by monoculture. Statistically significant differences (P < 0.01) were found in the plum brandy sensory characteristics examined. Total sensory scores of Polish plum brandies ranged between 12.0 and 14.3, while Slovakian Slivovica received the highest score (16.7). CONCLUSION: The results showed that plum brandies produced in the Lacko area are characterised by a similar and original chemical composition that results mainly from spontaneous fermentation as well as traditional production technology. (C) 2007 Society of Chemical Industry.