Phenolic compounds and aroma-impact odorants in herb liqueurs elaborated by maceration of aromatic and medicinal plants in grape marc distillates

Abstract

Twenty-eight commercial herb liqueurs, elaborated by maceration of aromatic and medicinal plants in grape marc distillate, were analysed. Thirty-two volatile compounds were identified and quantified by gas chromatographymass spectrometry, whereas seven phenols were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. All compounds showed significant differences among the samples analysed as consequence of the initial composition of the distillate and the plants and spices used in the liqueur elaboration. Of the 32 volatile compounds identified, 18 were considered to be impact odorants (odour activity value ?1) and these were classified into six odorant series. Spice, fruity and floral were the series that contributed the most to the aroma profile of the evaluated liqueurs. A first principal components analysis (PCA) was performed on the concentration of the seven phenols and these accounted for 75.37% of the total variance and a second PCA was performed on the concentration of the 18 impact odorants and these accounted for 60.96% of the total variance; allowing for the classification of the liqueur samples into three different groups.