CONTRIBUTIONS OF DISTILLATE COMPONENTS TO DISPERSE PHASE STRUCTURES IN MODEL SPIRIT SOLUTIONS

The dispersed phase of a Scotch distillate behaved differently from th at of a model solution containing solely the esters that are normally present in such whiskeys. The presence of surface active distillate co mponents, such as long-chain alcohols, aldehydes, and esters, had the major stabilizing influence on dispersed phase agglomerates. Increasin g the hydrophilicity of the end group and the length of the aliphatic chain of individual congeners made positive contributions to surface a ctivity. Possible surface active components in the test distillate wer e the long-chain aliphatic alcohols tetradecanol and hexadecanol and p ossibly ethyl esters of 18-carbon acids. The optimum ethanol concentra tions for agglomerate stability were 1% in the presence of surface act ive agents and 3% in the absence of such components. Excess ethanol ap peared to reduce the stabilizing effect of surface active compounds. G as chromatography of new distillate headspaces over 4 h following dilu tion showed no significant changes in concentration of volatiles above the liquid phase. This suggests that changes in agglomerate diameter would have no effect on the assessment of spirit for the duration of a normal sensory panel. The formation of stable agglomerates may alter the release of aroma compounds in the mouth, influencing concentration s of compounds reaching the retronasal cavity and so influencing perce ptions of flavor.