Fatty acid profile and glycerol concentration in cachaças aged in different wood barrels

The objective of this study was to evaluate the fatty acid profile and glycerol concentration in cachaças aged for 3 years in barrels made from different types of tropical woods and European oak. Glycerol gives body to spirits, whereas the fatty acid profile influences the spirit sensory characteristics. The concentration of these compounds in aged spirits depends on the wood composition. Tropical wood barrels made from amendoim (Pterogyne nitens Tul), araruva (Centrolobium tomentosum), cabreúva (Myrocarpus frondosus), cerejeira (Amburana cearensis), grápia (Apuleia leiocarpa), ipê roxo (Tabebuia heptaphylla), jequitibá (Cariniana estrellensis), jequitibá rosa (Cariniana legalis) and pereira (Platycyamus regnellii), as well as European oak (Quercus petraea), were used in this study. Glycerol concentrations in aged cachaças were measured using colorimetric methods, and fatty acid profiles were determined by GC‐MS analysis. The main fatty acids found were propanoic (C3:0), butanoic (C4:0), pentanoic (C5:0), octanoic (C8:0), decanoic (C10:0), dodecanoic (C12:0), hexadecanoic (C16:0), octadecanoic (C18:0) and octadecenoic (C18:1⁹) acids. Araruva barrels stood out as the major supplier of C4:0 and cabreúva barrels provided greater amounts of C18:0 to cachaça. Carvalho and araruva barrels conferred more complete fatty acid profiles and higher concentrations of glycerol. Copyright © 2016 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling