Whisky, Whiskey and Bourbon: Composition and Analysis of Whisky

Whisky has traditionally been assessed by expert blenders with many years of experience, by comparison of samples with experience or a reference. Vocabularies of descriptive terms have been used, which have often been presented in the form of a 'flavor wheel.' With the advancement in chromatographic techniques and their coupling with mass spectrometry, the number of compounds identified in whisky has increased dramatically. They include alcohols, carboxylic acids, esters, aliphatic carbonyl compounds, heterocyclic sulfur compounds and aliphatic sulfides, heterocyclic nitrogen compounds, a wide range of simple phenolic compounds, phenolic aldehydes, and heterocyclic oxygen compounds.