Gas chromatographic determination of volatile congeners in spirit drinks: interlaboratory study

An interlaboratory study of a gas chromatographic (GC) method for the determination of volatile congeners in spirit drinks was conducted; 31 laboratories from 8 countries took part in the study. The method uses GC with flame ionization detection and incorporates several quality control measures which permit the choice of chromatographic system and conditions to be selected by the user. Spirit drink samples were prepared and sent to participants as 10 blind duplicate or split-level test materials for the determination of 1,1-diethoxyethane (acetal), 2-methylbutan-1-ol (active amyl alcohol), 3-methylbutan-1-ol (isoamyl alcohol), methanol (methyl alcohol), ethyl ethanoate (ethyl acetate), butan-1-ol (n-butanol), butan-2-ol (sec-butanol), 2-methylpropan-1-ol (isobutyl alcohol), propan-1-ol (n-propanol), and ethanal (acetaldehyde). The precision of the method for 9 of the 10 analytes was well within the range predicted by the Horwitz equation. The precision of the most volatile analyte, ethanal, was just above statistically predicted levels. This method is recommended for official regulatory purposes.