CLASSIFICATION OF SUGAR CANE SPIRITS FROM DIFFERENT DISTILLERIES USING PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS

Abstract

The volatile constituents of 10 samples of sugar cane spirit from the main distilleries in the country were isolated by liquid extraction and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, as a way to better understand the diversity of sensory profiles presented in Cuban rum. A total of 186 volatile compounds were identified. The major components that stand out, in general, were ethyl esters and fatty acids: ethyl octanoate (2.28-5.78 mg/L), octanoic acid (0.00-10.48 mg/L), ethyl decanoate (7.10-18.81 mg/mL), decanoic acid (2.93-13.31 mg/mL), dodecanoic acid (0.08-7.05 mg/mL), ethyl dodecanoate (2.35-19.18 mg/mL), ethyl (Z)-9-hexadecenoate (1.80-8.32 mg/mL), and ethyl hexadecanoate (1.06-13.52 mg/mL). The quantitative data were processed using principal component analysis in order to differentiate the samples according to the distillery of origin. With the first three principal components (PCs), more than 75% of the variability in the original data was explained and it was possible to establish five groups. According to the communalities, the compounds that most contributed were 12 aliphatic alcohols, 11 aliphatic esters, 8 acetals, 7 aromatic derivatives, 5 furans, 5 aliphatic ketones, 3 sulfur derivatives, 2 terpenes, 1 aliphatic aldehydes and 1 nitrogenous derivative, many of them with recognized sensory contribution. In accordance with the factor loading of the original variable in the three PCs, the greatest contributions were from n-tridecane, 2-methoxyphenol, 3-methyl-1-butyl propanoate, nonan-2-ol, methyl hexadecanoate and 2-phenylethyl octanoate (PC1); 1-octen-3-ol, dehydro-ar-ionene, 2-phenylethanol, octan-1-ol and 1,1,3,-triethoxyhexane (PC 2) and α-bisabolol, (Z,E)-farnesol, heptanoate ethyl, 2-methylpropyl octanoate, 3-methylbutan-1-ol, dodecan-1-ol and nerol (PC3).