Twister Extraction of Aged Bourbon Whiskies

Bourbon whiskies are barrel aged in wood to develop particular flavour characteristics. The actual changes that occur in distribution and content of trace components, although detectable to the palate are difficult to detect analytically. Stir bar sorptive extraction using Gerstel Twister stir bars coated with polydimethylsiloxane can effectively extract trace nonpolar components from aqueous alcohol matrices, providing extremely low detection limits. In this study, a series of bourbon whiskies produced by the identical process and stored under the same conditions for 1 to 10 years were extracted with the Gerstel Twister. Thermal desorption GC/MSD was used to identify trace components that may be used to predict aging of the whiskey.