Characterization of different aroma-types of chinese liquors based on their aroma profile by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and sensory evaluation

The aroma profile of different aroma-types of Chinese liquors was measured using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and sensory evaluation. Sensory analysis coupled with principal component analysis (PCA) showed that strong-aroma liquors were mainly characterized by cellar aroma; light-aroma liquors were mainly characterized by fen, floral, grain, sweet and vinegar aromas while sauce-aroma liquors were mainly characterized by sauce, fruity and caramel aromas. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) results indicated that ethyl hexanoate, hexanoic acid, hexyl hexanoate, 4-methyl pheno, ethyl pentanoate, isoamyl hexanoate and pentanoic acid were significantly and positively associated with cellar aroma and strong-aroma liquors. Vinegar and fen aroma were strongly linked with light-aroma liquor and associated with of ethyl acetate, 2-methylpropyl acetate, isoamyl acetate, isoamyl lactate, ethyl decanoate, diethyl butanedioate, 2-phenethyl acetate, 3,4-dihydro-2H-1-benzopyran-2-one 1-dodecanol, ethyl decanoate, 3-methyl-1-butanol and thymol. While sauce-aroma liquors were positively correlated with caramel, fruity and sauce sensory descriptors and volatile compounds such as ethyl 2-methylpropanoate, ethyl 3-methylbutanoate, furfural, 1,3-dimethyl trisulfide, trimethyl pyrazine, ethyl benzeneacetate, benzaldehyde and 1-octanol. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.