Abstract
Ethyl carbamate is an impurity present in distilled beverages. Given the risk of it being a carcinogenic substance, Brazilian legislation has determined that its presence in distilled beverages, such as ‘aguardente’ and ‘cachaça’ (two types of sugarcane spirits), should be limited to a maximum of 150 µg/L. Ordinary spirits usually contain variable amounts of ethyl carbamate, although in lower concentrations than the maximum determined by law. The finding that commercial spirits had a much lower concentration of this impurity (around 50 µg/L) led the authors to research the reasons for the differences, and these are explored in this paper, with a focus on the speed of the distillation process and its influence on the spirit's composition. The team conducted research in a sugarcane distillery producing ‘aguardente’ using a simple pot still and measured the influence of fast and slow distillation on the presence of ethyl carbamate and non-alcohol components in the process. The results demonstrated that the speed of distillation was proportionally related to the concentration of ethyl carbamate and secondary components in the beverage's composition. Copyright © 2012 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling
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