GC-Separated Brandy Components Derived from French and American Oaks

Abstract

Concentrated methylene chloride extracts of various experimental beverage brandies, unaged and aged in French and American oak barrels, were analyzed for higher boiling volatile compounds by temperature-programmed gas chromatography. Diethyl succinate, 5-methyl furfural, and β-methyl-γ-octalactone were identified as substances derived from oak during aging. These compounds were found in relatively high concentrations in brandies aged in American (U.S.) oak but were quite low or apparently absent in French oak. The ethyl esters of fatty acids present in unaged brandy distillates diminish in amount during aging, particularly ethyl laurate and ethyl caprate.