Tracking dry gin volatile organic compounds over distillation: a time course study

Why was the work done: The influence of distillation time on the volatile composition of gin has not been examined in detail at a commercial distillery. How was the work done: Headspace Solid-Phase Micro-Extraction Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) was used to tentatively identify 74 aroma compounds, with their concentration tracked in distillate samples over the course of three gin distillations. What are the main findings: Four unique fractions were identified using Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering: ‘heads’, ‘early hearts’, ‘late hearts, and ‘tails’. The hearts fraction (n=24 samples) was examined further, fitting statistically appropriate models to 54 aroma volatiles. Three sub-groups of volatiles were identified, (i) highly volatile monoterpenes with rapidly decreasing concentration over the early hearts fraction, (ii) volatiles whose concentration increased gradually over the hearts fraction and (iii) less volatile sesquiterpenes, sesquiterpenoids, and monoterpenoids which increased rapidly in concentration in the later distillate. Complex cubic models fit 34 volatiles with very high significance (p>0.0001) over the hearts fraction (72%). Informal aroma sensory bench testing identified distinct aroma categories with, for example, ‘Spicy’ being commonly detected in the later distillate. Why is the work important: This investigation characterises the kinetics of flavour extraction over the course of a commercial gin distillation process. These findings highlight the potential for the expression of specific flavour characteristics by modifying the cut points of the distillation process