Differences Between Swedish, French and American Oak when Storing Whisky Analysed by GC-MS

Sammanfattning: This study describes how to analyse 12 different volatile oak related compounds in whisky using a gas chromatograph (GC) coupled to a mass spectrometer (MS). This is done in a way that makes it possible to characterize the properties of Swedish oak in comparison to American and French oak. The different parameters that contribute to the variation in these compounds studied in this report are the origin of the oak wood, the size of the barrel, the time the whisky is stored and the toasting degree of the barrel. Different diagrams are made to visualize the differences in compound concentration the different treatments and maturation periods in-between. The results propose that differences between origins, toasting and barrel size could be made. But since the whiskies are still under maturation, no final taste profile could be made.