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Characterisation of single malt Scotch Whisky using low powered ultrasound and UV‐Visible spectroscopy
Author(s) -
Fraser Sarah E.,
Francis Mathew J.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of the institute of brewing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.523
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 2050-0416
pISSN - 0046-9750
DOI - 10.1002/jib.633
Subject(s) - spectroscopy , ultraviolet visible spectroscopy , chemistry , materials science , analytical chemistry (journal) , food science , environmental science , optics , chromatography , physics , astronomy , organic chemistry
Scotch Whisky is a significant segment of the UK food and beverage industry in terms of both economic value and employment. The value of Scotch Whisky is determined by age and quality although there are expressions which are more valuable due to their history. Quality control and identification of Scotch Whisky is carried out by sensory experts and costly offsite analytical processes such as HPLC, GCMS and NMR. This study characterises Scotch Whisky using two affordable, simple analytical methods: UV‐Visible spectroscopy and low powered ultrasonic characterisation. Low powered acoustic techniques offer the benefits of being online, non‐destructive and economical while UV‐Visible spectroscopy offers a rapid and cheap method to determine sample composition. Alternatively aged ‘whiskies’, which utilise active maturation techniques such as highpowered ultrasound or electromagnetic radiation, produce matured spirits in a shorter time with some characteristics similar to traditionally matured Scotch Whisky, potentially disrupting the industry. Here, twenty five commercially available Scotch Whisky samples from distilleries across Scotland are characterised using UV‐Visible spectroscopy and low powered ultrasonic characterisation. An alternatively aged ‘whisky’ is analysed and compared with traditionally matured Scotch Whiskies. The techniques presented here successfully tracked both Scotch Whisky age and cask type and observed a difference between the traditionally and alternatively aged samples. Spectrophotometry was additionally used to determine the antioxidant availability of the Scotch Whisky samples via a DPPH assay and was found to positively trend with the duration of maturation. © 2020 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling