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Updated: May 12, 2026

Multipronged Phenotyping Approaches to Characterize Sugarcane Root Systems
Published on: August 17, 2022
Congeners in sugar cane spirits aged in casks of different woods
Aline M Bortoletto1, André R Alcarde
1Departamento de Agroindústria, Alimentos e Nutrição, Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Pádua Dias 11, CP 9, 13418-900 Piracicaba-SP, Brazil.
Abstract:
The profile of volatile compounds and aging markers in sugar cane spirits aged for 36 months in casks made of 10 types of wood were studied. The ethanol content, volatile acidity, aldehydes, esters, higher alcohols, and methanol were determined. In addition, gallic, vanilic and syringic acids, siringaldehyde, coniferaldehyde, sinapaldehyde, vanillin, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural were identified and quantified. The profile of volatile compounds characterised aging in each type of wood. The beverage aged in oak cask achieved the highest contents of maturation-related congeners. The Brazilian woods, similar to oak, were jequitibá rosa and cerejeira, which presented the highest contents of some maturation-related compounds, such as vanillin, vanilic acid, syringaldehyde and sinapaldehyde. Although oak wood conferred more chemical complexity to the beverage, Brazilian woods, singly or complementarily, present potential for spirit characterisation and for improving the quality of sugar cane spirits.
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