Characterisation of odour-active compounds in aged rum

The volatiles of rum matured in oak casks were carefully isolated by solvent extraction followed by solvent-assisted flavour evaporation. Among the 116 volatile compounds identified by GC–MS, seven of them were found for the first time in rum. Application of the aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) on the volatile fraction revealed 18 odour-active areas in the flavour dilution factor range of 32–1024. On the basis of the quantitative data and odour thresholds in 35% ethanol (v/v), the odour activity values (OAV; ratio of concentration to odour threshold) were calculated. Nineteen aroma compounds showed OAVs >1, among which ethanol, (E)-β-damascenone, ethyl butanoate, ethyl hexanoate, vanillin, (Z)-oak lactone, ethyl 2-methylpropanoate, 1,1-diethoxyethane, ethyl 2-methylbutanoate, 3-methylbutyl acetate, ethyl octanoate, ethyl decanoate, 2-phenylethyl acetate, 2-phenylethanol, 2-methoxyphenol, 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, 4-propyl-2-methoxyphenol, γ-nonalactone, and eugenol showed the highest values and should be considered as the most odour-active compounds.