Profiling Scotch Malt Whisky Spirits from Different Distilleries Using an Electronic Nose and an Expert Sensory Panel

Abstract

Spirits from different Scotch malt whisky distilleries exhibit distinct sensory characteristics. To ensure the future diversity of this spirit category and sustainability of individual distilleries, it is vital that such differences can be maintained. In this research the characteristics of spirits from six distilleries were profiled using an electronic nose (e-nose) and by an expert sensory panel. The instrumental method used a flash GC-based e-nose, the HERACLES. The e-nose produced compositional data that could clearly discriminate between the spirits according to distillery of origin. This discrimination was based on levels of a range of volatile compounds that could potentially influence flavor. The sensory panel provided quantitative data on the levels of sixteen aroma attributes in the spirits. This showed clear differences in flavor among the distilleries. Although the separation obtained using the two approaches was not directly comparable, correlations were observed between peaks in the e-nose chromatograms and certain aroma attributes, indicating that the two techniques are complementary.