Abstract
Volatile compositions and sensory characteristics of 11 commercially distilled soju samples were investigated using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and sensory descriptive analysis. A total of 59 major volatile compounds, consisting of 32 esters, 10 alcohols, 2 acids, 5 aldehydes, 3 ketones, 1 hydrocarbon, 1 furan, 2 phenols, and 3 miscellaneous compounds, were identified. From the principal component analysis (PCA) of volatile data, MSJ made by atmospheric distillation showed a clear distinction in volatile compositions compared to that of other samples made by vacuum distillation. Based on PCA of the sensory data determined by a panel of ten judges, MSJ was associated with a large amount of longer chain esters that showed high intensities in bitter taste and yeast/nuruk-related flavor attributes. HYJ, LPJ, and HAJ made with rice as a raw material were associated with lower intensities of the alcohol aroma, while JRJ and OKJ aged in oak barrels were associated with fruit flavor, sweet flavor, and brandy aroma. In the partial least squares regression (PLSR) analysis to see any relationship between volatile and sensory data, longer chain esters like ethyl tetradecanoate, and ethyl hexadecanoate were highly associated with bleach aroma. In contrast, positive correlations were seen with barley aroma and yeast flavor with hexanal, nonanal, benzaldehyde, and 2-methoxy-phenol.
Highlights
Soju is a well-known Korean alcoholic beverage along with unrefined rice wine, makgeolli
Soju is classified by its distilling process into distilled soju made by pot still or diluted soju made by decreasing the alcoholic content of liquor after continuous distillation in Korea
Esters and alcohols were the largest groups among the quantified volatiles and 10 volatile compounds were found in all samples
Summary
Soju is a well-known Korean alcoholic beverage along with unrefined rice wine, makgeolli. Soju is a distilled liquor made through a pot still, traditionally, or in a modern continuous still of fermented rice mashes (or other starchy sources) that have gone through the process of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation [1]. Soju is classified by its distilling process into distilled soju made by pot still or diluted soju made by decreasing the alcoholic content of liquor after continuous distillation in Korea. The production methods of distilled soju are separated into atmospheric distillation and vacuum distillation. The atmospheric distillation is a traditional method in which the bitter taste, grain flavor, and heated flavor of final distilled spirits are increased. In the case of modern vacuum distillation, the heated flavor of distilled liquor is lessened, and a lot of volatile compounds are preserved.
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