Sources of Volatile Aromatic Congeners in Whiskey

Whiskey’s complex and diverse flavor stems from a range of reactions that create congeners that are primarily dependent upon the cereal source/mash bill and each stage of the process: malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation, and cask maturation. Therefore, in theory, the congener profile of a whiskey is a summation of its ingredients and the specific parameters of each stage of the manufacturing process. Congener profiles have been used as biomarkers for quality and authentication; however, to date, insufficient information has been published in relation to the extensive profiling of congeners associated with specific whiskey styles/types or the intra-and inter-variability within brands, especially in an Irish context due to the recent rapid expansion of the industry. As the ability to extract and identify congeners has progressed appreciably in recent years due to advances in extraction, chromatographic, and chemometric techniques, it is imperative that research is undertaken to gain a better understanding of the impact of specific congeners not only in relation to quality but also as biomarkers for authentication.