Characterization of odor-active compounds of various Chinese “Wuliangye” liquors by gas chromatography–olfactometry, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and sensory evaluation

Odor-active compounds of Wuliangye liquors with markedly different aging years were identified by aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) and gas chromatography−olfactometry (GC–O). A total of 62 aroma compounds were identified in three Wuliangye liquors and 45 odorants were further screened out and quantified as the important odorants according to Flavor Dilution (FD) values. They were selected as specific compounds correlated to sensory attributes by the Pearson coefficient. The correlation results showed that ethyl hexanoate, ethyl 3-methylbutyrate, ethyl octanoate, ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, pentanoic acid, ethyl octanoate, furfural, 4-methylphenol, hexanoic acid, isovaleric acid, and 1,1-diethoxyethane were related to the characteristic aroma of Wuliangye liquors. It will be helpful for the improvement of characteristic aroma of Wuliangye liquors through adjusting fermentation parameters or compensating typical aroma compounds after alcoholic fermentation.