Characterization of the volatile profiles in Korean rice-matured spirits and premium whiskies using HS-SPME-Arrow-GC/MS

Abstract Spirits exhibit distinct flavors based on variations in raw materials and production methods. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of Korean rice-matured distilled spirits as premium distilled spirits by comparing their volatile compounds with those of commercially available whiskies. Volatile compounds in 17 single malt whiskies (SM), 9 blended whiskies (BL), and 3 rice-matured distilled spirits (RM) were analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) combined with headspace solid-phase microextraction arrow (HS-SPME-Arrow). Among the 77 identified volatile compounds, the concentrations of ethyl acetate, ethyl decanoate, and ethyl octanoate tended to increase as SM, BL, and RM matured, and may serve as key volatile compounds for distinguishing spirits. Additionally, ethanol, isoamyl alcohol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, isoamyl acetate, and phenylethyl acetate may function as volatile indicators for predicting the type and aging level of whisky. In this study, we evaluated volatile compounds in 29 spirits and identified eight key compounds that differentiate whisky types. Moreover, ethyl acetate and lactones, closely related to the flavor of whiskies, were remarkably higher in RMs compared to commercial whiskies. These findings could greatly contribute to the development of rice-matured spirits as high-quality Korean whisky and offer significant contributions to the classification of premium whiskies.