the library

Bourbon

Spirits & brews· spirit

What it is

Bourbon is an American whiskey distilled from a mash of at least 51 percent corn and aged in new, charred oak barrels.

What it tastes like

On the nose: herbaceous, spicy, smokey, fruity. Among its measured molecules: (Z)-whiskey lactone, rotundone, isoeugenol, syringol, 1,1-diethoxyethane.

Every one of its 15 compounds carries a paper the library can cite.

• guaiacolaromaphenolreads as smokeyMeasured in 15 of 341 ingredients.cite

  log3 FD 7/7/7, odour 'smokey'; quantified at 39.1-63.5 µg/L; OAV 43-69 — Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 3, row 'guaiacol'; Table 4; Table 5)
• vanillinaromaphenolreads as vanillaMeasured in 12 of 341 ingredients.cite

  log3 FD 6/7/8 (Wax) across the 4-, 8- and 12-year bourbons, odour described as 'vanilla'; quantified at 619-1410 µg/L; OAV 28-64 — Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 3 (Potent odorants determined by aroma extract dilution analysis of bourbon whiskeys aged for 4, 8, and 12 years), row 'vanillin'; Table 4; Table 5)
• eugenolaromaphenolreads as spicy, clovesMeasured in 19 of 341 ingredients.cite

  log3 FD 5/5/6, odour 'spicy, cloves'; quantified at 131-207 µg/L; OAV 18-29 — the one selected odorant whose concentration FALLS with age — Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 3, row 'eugenol'; Table 4; Table 5)
• phenylethyl alcoholaromaalcoholreads as rosey, wineMeasured in 42 of 341 ingredients.cite

  log3 FD 6/6/7, odour 'rosey, wine-like'; quantified at 33,800-41,700 µg/L; OAV 13-16 — Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 3, row '2-phenethyl alcohol'; Table 4; Table 5)
• syringolaromaphenolreads as smokeyMeasured in 5 of 341 ingredients.cite

  log3 FD 7/8/7, odour 'smokey' — one of the three highest flavour-dilution factors in the whole analysis; quantified at 205-265 µg/L (OAV below 1, so it is a dilution-potent rather than a concentration-driven odorant) — Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 3, row 'syringol'; Table 4; Table 5)
• ethyl butyratearomaesterreads as fruity, bubble gumMeasured in 22 of 341 ingredients.cite

  log3 FD 3/3/4, odour 'fruity, bubble gum'; quantified at 458-1260 µg/L; OAV 48-133 — Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 3, row 'ethyl butanoate'; Table 4, row 'ethyl butyrate'; Table 5)
• 1,1-diethoxyethanearomaetherreads as fruityMeasured in 8 of 341 ingredients.cite

  log3 FD 4/4/4, odour 'fruity'; quantified at 5170-5390 µg/L; OAV ~7.5 — Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 3, row 'acetal'; Table 4; Table 5)
• ethyl isovaleratearomaesterMeasured in 10 of 341 ingredients.cite

  quantified at 85.0-313 µg/L; OAV 53-195, the highest odour-activity value reported for any odorant in the paper — Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 4; Table 5; Table 6 (calibration table for SIDA of whiskey))
• 2-methyl-1-butanolaromaalcoholMeasured in 15 of 341 ingredients.cite

  quantified at 379,000-727,000 µg/L; OAV 1.8-4.1; the paper names the branched short-chain alcohols as fermentation products rather than oak products — Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 3, co-eluting row '2/3-methyl-1-butanol'; Table 4, row '2-methyl-1-butanol'; Table 5)
• isoamyl alcoholaromaalcoholreads as chocolate, maltyMeasured in 46 of 341 ingredients.cite

  the co-eluting pair carries log3 FD 8/7/7, odour 'chocolate, malty'; 3-methyl-1-butanol alone quantified at 962,000-1,420,000 µg/L, the most abundant odorant measured; OAV 1.7-2.5 — Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 3, co-eluting row '2/3-methyl-1-butanol'; Table 4, row '3-methyl-1-butanol'; Table 5)
• ethyl hexanoatearomaesterreads as fruity, berryMeasured in 36 of 341 ingredients.cite

  log3 FD 4/4/4, odour 'fruity, berry'; quantified at 1420-3110 µg/L; OAV 47-104 — Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 3, row 'ethyl hexanoate'; Table 4; Table 5)
• isoeugenolaromaacidreads as spicy, clovesMeasured in 4 of 341 ingredients.cite

  log3 FD 6/6/6, odour 'spicy, cloves'; quantified at 306-416 µg/L; OAV 51-69 — Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 3, row '(E)-isoeugenol'; Table 4; Table 5)
• rotundonearomaterpenoidreads as spicy, woody, incenseMeasured in 3 of 341 ingredients.cite

  0.342-0.453 µg/L in the three bourbons and up to 1.35 µg/L in a 10-year Bulleit bourbon; log3 FD 2/4/3, odour 'spicy, woody, incense'; OAV 43-57 on an 0.008 µg/L threshold. The paper identifies rotundone as the compound behind the 'woodiness' of oak-aged spirits — Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 2 (Concentration of rotundone in oak-aged distilled spirits); Table 3; Table 5; Abstract)
• β-damascenonearomaterpenoidreads as floral, cooked appleMeasured in 13 of 341 ingredients.cite

  log3 FD 4/5/4, odour 'floral, cooked apple'; quantified at 3.58-6.56 µg/L; OAV 26-47 on a 0.14 µg/L threshold — Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 3, row '(E)-β-damascenone'; Table 4; Table 5)
• (Z)-whiskey lactonearomareads as herbaceous, coconutMeasured in 1 of 341 ingredients.cite

  log3 FD 5/8/8, odour 'herbaceous, coconut'; quantified at 2850-5470 µg/L; OAV 43-82 — Genthner-Kreger et al. 2021, Molecules (Table 3, row '(Z)-whiskey lactone'; Table 4; Table 5)