Authentication of whisky due to its botanical origin and way of production by instrumental analysis and multivariate classification methods

Paulina Wiśniewska; Ricard Boqué; Eva Borràs; Olga Busto; Waldemar Wardencki; Jacek Namieśnik; Tomasz Dymerski

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2016.10.042

Authentication of whisky due to its botanical origin and way of production by instrumental analysis and multivariate classification methods

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2017 Feb 15:173:849-853. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2016.10.042. Epub 2016 Oct 27.

Authors

Paulina Wiśniewska¹, Ricard Boqué², Eva Borràs², Olga Busto², Waldemar Wardencki³, Jacek Namieśnik³, Tomasz Dymerski⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Analytical Chemistry, The Chemical Faculty, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza St., 80-233 Gdansk, Poland. Electronic address: p.m.wisniewska@gmail.com.
² Department of Analytical Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Universitat Rovira i Virgili., Marcel.lí Domingo St. s/n (Campus Sescelades), 43007 Tarragona, Spain.
³ Department of Analytical Chemistry, The Chemical Faculty, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza St., 80-233 Gdansk, Poland.
⁴ Department of Analytical Chemistry, The Chemical Faculty, Gdansk University of Technology, 11/12 Narutowicza St., 80-233 Gdansk, Poland. Electronic address: tomasz.dymerski@gmail.com.

PMID: 27816884
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2016.10.042

Abstract

Headspace mass-spectrometry (HS-MS), mid infrared (MIR) and UV-vis spectroscopy were used to authenticate whisky samples from different origins and ways of production ((Irish, Spanish, Bourbon, Tennessee Whisky and Scotch). The collected spectra were processed with partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) to build the classification models. In all cases the five groups of whiskies were distinguished, but the best results were obtained by HS-MS, which indicates that the biggest differences between different types of whisky are due to their aroma. Differences were also found inside groups, showing that not only raw material is important to discriminate samples but also the way of their production. The methodology is quick, easy and does not require sample preparation.

Keywords: Botanical origin; Mass spectrometry; Mid infrared spectroscopy; UV–Vis spectroscopy; Whisky.

MeSH terms

Alcoholic Beverages / analysis*
Food Analysis / methods*
Mass Spectrometry / methods
Spectrophotometry, Infrared / methods