Impact of Alcohol Content on Alcohol–Ester Interactions in Qingxiangxing Baijiu Through Threshold Analysis

Alcohols and esters are core flavor-active constituents of Qingxiangxing Baijiu (QXB), yet ethanol concentration's regulatory role in their thresholds and interactions remains unclear. Physicochemical analysis showed reduced-alcohol QXB (L-QX, 42%, <i>v</i>/<i>v</i>) had higher total acid (1.48 g/L) but lower total ester (1.52 g/L) than high-alcohol QXB (H-QX, 53%, <i>v</i>/<i>v</i>; 1.20 g/L total acid, 2.05 g/L total ester). Sensory evaluation (0-5 scale) revealed H-QX had higher fruity (3.6 vs. 2.0), grassy (3.2 vs. 1.8), and grainy (3.0 vs. 1.9) aroma scores, while L-QX showed higher sour (2.1 vs. 1.5) and lees (1.7 vs. 1.1) notes (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The quantification of gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) determined the concentrations of eight alcohols and esters in H-QX samples and identified that most flavor compounds had higher concentrations than L-QX samples. Three alternative forced-choice tests showed 53% ethanol elevated olfactory thresholds (OTs) of five compounds, with ethyl lactate (1.53-fold) and isopentanol (1.89-fold) vs. 42%. For 16 alcohol-ester binary mixtures, 12 pairs had OT ratios (53% vs. 42%) < 1, especially 3 pairs (e.g., n-propanol-ethyl acetate) < 0.5. OAV/S curve analyses indicated all 16 mixtures had masking effects, with 11 pairs stronger at 42%. Verification validated 53% ethanol mitigated masking, enhancing fruity/grassy aromas by 38.1%/25.0%. This study provides support for QXB dealcoholization flavor regulation.