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Analysis of Barrel-Aged Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey by Ultrahigh Resolution Mass Spectrometry

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Abstract

In an effort to characterize differently aged bourbons and to determine whether bourbons could be “fingerprinted” by their chemical compositions, we used Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) and liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to characterize 2 distinct sets of bourbon samples. The first set of bourbons were prepared using the same mash bill but were aged differently (unaged (0 years), 2 years, 4 years, and 6 years) in oak barrels. The results showed an increase in the number of chemical compounds present as the bourbon ages. Most of the large changes in chemical composition occur in the first 2 years of aging. We also analyzed single barrel bourbons, which were produced identically but maturated in different, adjacent barrels, and the results suggested that significant differences exist among these samples. These results suggest that “fingerprinting” of different bourbons for authentication purposes may be complicated and that careful analyses, coupled with more comprehensive identification of chemical compounds in bourbons, are needed.

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Acknowledgments

The 15-T Bruker SolariXR FT-ICR instrument was supported by NIH Award Number Grant S10 OD018507.

Funding

This research was supported by a Miami University Committee on Faculty Research grant (to MWC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA

    Kundi Yang, Caitlyn Thomas, Huan Zhang, Zishuo Cheng, Shenyuan Xu, Callie Miller, Devin Spivey, Neil D. Danielson & Michael W. Crowder

  2. Campus Chemical Instrumentation Center, Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Arpad Somogyi

  3. Moonshine University and Grease Monkey Distillery, Louisville, KY, USA

    Colin Blake, Clay Smith & David Dafoe

Authors
  1. Kundi Yang
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  2. Arpad Somogyi
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  3. Caitlyn Thomas
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  4. Huan Zhang
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  5. Zishuo Cheng
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  7. Callie Miller
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  9. Colin Blake
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  10. Clay Smith
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  11. David Dafoe
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  12. Neil D. Danielson
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  13. Michael W. Crowder
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael W. Crowder.

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Conflict of Interest

Kundi Yang declares that he has no conflict of interest. Arpad Somogyi declares that he has no conflict of interest. Caitlyn Thomas declares that she has no conflict of interest. Huan Zhang declares that he has no conflict of interest. Zishuo Cheng declares that he has no conflict of interest. Shenyuan Xu declares that he has no conflict of interest. Callie Miller declares that she has no conflict of interest. Devin Spivey declares that he has no conflict of interest. Colin Blake declares that he has no conflict of interest. Clay Smith declares that he has no conflict of interest. David Dafoe declares that he has no conflict of interest. Neil D. Danielson declares that he has no conflict of interest. Michael W. Crowder declares that he has no conflict of interest.

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Yang, K., Somogyi, A., Thomas, C. et al. Analysis of Barrel-Aged Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey by Ultrahigh Resolution Mass Spectrometry. Food Anal. Methods 13, 2301–2311 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-020-01850-z

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