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Dilution of whisky – the molecular perspective

nature.com

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Re: Dilution of whisky – the molecular perspective

#11

Post by mirimir »

sxates wrote: post #8
jotux wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Guaiacol is present in wood smoke. It's maybe being leached out of the charred barrels into the whiskey during the aging process.

Right - it's the barrels that infuse a lot of the flavor.

That makes sense. But the paper seems to claim that the guaiacol comes from the smoked malted barley:

> Many whiskies, especially those that are made on the Scottish island of Isley, have a typical smoky taste that develops when malted barley is smoked on peat fire. Chemically, the smoky flavour is attributed to phenols, and in particular guaiacol, which is much more common in Scottish whiskies than in American or Irish ones.

Re: Dilution of whisky – the molecular perspective

#12

Post by levesque »

mirimir wrote: post #11
sxates wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right - it's the barrels that infuse a lot of the flavor.

That makes sense. But the paper seems to claim that the guaiacol comes from the smoked malted barley: > Many whiskies, especially those that are made on the Scottish island of Isley, have a typical smoky taste that develops when malted barley is smoked on peat fire. Chemically, the smoky flavour is attributed to phenols, and in particular guaiacol, which is much more common in Scottish whiskies than in American or Ir…

I agree that this is where the smoky flavours are supposed to come from. So your question remains unanswered. Perhaps guaiacol is generated from intermediate compounds after distillation? From chemical reactions with the barrel?

Re: Dilution of whisky – the molecular perspective

#13

Post by 33W »

levesque wrote: post #12
mirimir wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That makes sense. But the paper seems to claim that the guaiacol comes from the smoked malted barley: > Many whiskies, especially those that are made on the Scottish island of Isley, have a typical smoky taste that develops when malted barley is smoked on peat fire. Chemically, the smoky flavour is attributed to phenols, and in particular guaiacol, which is much more common in Scottish whiskies than in American or Ir…

I agree that this is where the smoky flavours are supposed to come from. So your question remains unanswered. Perhaps guaiacol is generated from intermediate compounds after distillation? From chemical reactions with the barrel?

I wasn't able to find a source in a quick search, but I wonder if (traditionally) the charring of the barrel is also done with peat.

Re: Dilution of whisky – the molecular perspective

#14

Post by martingoodson »

mirimir wrote: post #4

So guaiacol boils at 205°C. How does it end up in the whisky, after distillation? I mean, the water should come over before the guaiacol does.

Liquids partially vaporise below their boiling point (eg water vapour in humid air). See http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf60134a022?journalCode=...

Re: Dilution of whisky – the molecular perspective

#18

Post by jartelt »

timcederman wrote: post #9
georgecmu wrote: post #6

It's disappointing they did not reference the seminal work by the father of the Periodic Table on ethanol/water solutions [1]. This work is often cited as justification for why Russian vodkas are 80 proof. 1. Mendeleev, D.I., O soedinenii spirta s vodoi, sochineniya (Total Collection of Transactions: On the Combinations of Alcohol with Water), Leningrad: ONTI-Khimteoret, 1937, vol. 4. UPDATE on Mendeleev's work with…

Can you give a brief explanation of the justification? I googled for the paper, and had difficulty finding the original or citations.

Not sure who is right, but there is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Mendeleev#Vodka_myth

Re: Dilution of whisky – the molecular perspective

#19

Post by anfractuosity »

jotux wrote: post #7
mirimir wrote: post #4

So guaiacol boils at 205°C. How does it end up in the whisky, after distillation? I mean, the water should come over before the guaiacol does.

Guaiacol is present in wood smoke. It's maybe being leached out of the charred barrels into the whiskey during the aging process.

It does mention "It is likely that the concentration of guaiacol in Isley whiskies is even higher.", since Islay whisky often uses peated malt, won't at least some of it be coming from the malt.

As far as I understand, they don't treat the casks differently to other distilleries.

Re: Dilution of whisky – the molecular perspective

#20

Post by gvb »

KGIII wrote: post #5
kensai wrote: post #2

Now these are the articles I wished I read in Academia!

Whilst still in academia, I surely wasn't interested in diluting my whiskey.

The whisky is diluted as part of the manufacturing process to the optimum(ish) level: 80 proof / 40% ABV. You are correct to not dilute it further.

Ref: Whisky is distilled to around 70% alcohol by volume (vol-%) then diluted to about 40 vol-%, and often drunk after further slight dilution to enhance its taste.

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