Tequila Aroma

Abstract

Tequila (Agave) is one of the most consumed Mexican liquors worldwide. Com. tequilas (blanco, reposado, and anejo) were purchased in shops and supermarkets. Detn. of major volatiles in all samples was carried out by adding 100 ? L of 1-nonanol as an internal std. to 1 mL of each tequila. However, minor volatiles were examd. by liq.-liq. extn. 15 ML of tequila were extd. with 15 mL (3 ? 5 mL) of dichloromethane. The internal std. in this case was 3-octanol. The exts. were concd. in a Kuderna-Danish app. to 50 ? L. GC-MS analyses were performed in 2 capillary columns HP-FFAP and HP-5 MS. Among the major volatiles, 3-methylbutanol and phenylethyl alc. were most abundant in all types of tequila, however, some fatty acids were also detected in most of the reposado and anejo types. Minor volatiles, on the other hand, varied widely between tequilas. Alcs. (C3-C16), esters (C6-C18), and acids (C2-C12) were the most common volatiles. Various furans and nitrogenous compds. were also present. Significative differences, both qual. and quant. were found among all tequilas. Major and minor volatiles were sniffed in a GC-O. The evaluation of potent odorants demonstrated that volatiles with sweet, floral, woody, and tepache-like notes are the impact character compds. of tequila. According to this study most of the volatile contributors to the aroma of tequila are similar to those reported for wine and sake. However, mezcal (Agave angustifolia) was used as a neg. control