Abstract
Whisky (whiskey) consists of many trace elements coming from the raw materials used in its fermentation, distillation and maturation processes. These ingredients assure the exceptional organoleptic characteristics of the beverage. Their analysis is important to better control the stages of fermentation, distillation, taste repeatability and for product quality assurance as well as from the brand protection point of view. This article presents the usefulness of modern analytical techniques based on elemental analysis. ICP mass spectrometry and CV atomic absorption spectroscopy were applied to distinguish whisky produced in Scotland from whisky coming from Ireland and the United States. The collected semi-quantitative data were used for multivariate analysis performed using the Statistica 10.0 software. The results showed that Irish whiskey is characterized by quite a high amount of Ba and Ti compared with other samples, which made it possible to distinguish this sample from the others. No strict correlation was found between the type of whisky and the amount of trace elements, however, the projection of objects on the first two components revealed that single malt samples created one cluster.
Highlights
At present, whisky is one of the most popular alcoholic beverages in the world
The aim of this work was to assess the potential correlation between the elemental composition of the whisky samples and the country of their origin based on the semi-quantitative data obtained by ICP-MS
Based on the obtained results, it can be stated that whisky from Scotland has the lowest amount of Hg when compared with other samples
Summary
Whisky (the alternate spelling whiskey is commonly used in Ireland and the USA–for consistency the former spelling is used in this paper) is one of the most popular alcoholic beverages in the world. According to the current definition, whisky is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. A wide variety of grains is used in the production of different types of whisky, for example, barley, corn, wheat and rye. Wooden casks, made of charred white oak are used in the process of whisky aging [1]. Whisky is subjected to strict regulations with many types and classes in terms of fermentation of grains, distillation, and aging in wooden barrels
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