Chinese Baijiu and Whisky: Research Reservoirs for Flavor and Functional Food

Abstract

Baijiu is a traditional spirit with high reputation in the Chinese community, and whisky, on the other hand, is a renowned spirit in Western culture, with both contributing a major proportion to the consumption and revenue in the global spirit market. Interestingly, starting with similar raw materials, such as grains, diverse production methods lead to different organoleptic profiles. In addition, such enormous attention they attract renders them as a crucial part in food and the related industry. Therefore, great efforts are made in improving product quality and optimizing production processes, such as flavor enhancement, facility development, and deep utilization of byproducts. Given the huge impacts and great involvements of these spirits in the general food industry, research focusing on either spirit is of referential significance for other relevant fields. With the aim of facilitating such collaboration, this review discusses the current research status, in a comparative manner, of both spirits in respect to key production processes-oriented sensory and flavor analysis, deep utilization of byproducts, and spirit-derived functional food investigations. Finally, the internal correlations based on the abovementioned criteria are identified, with research prospects proposed.

Keywords: Chinese baijiu; food flavor; functional food; sensory analysis; whisky.

Figure 1

Baijiu flavor wheel, adapted from the Chinese National Standard of Terminology of Baijiu sensory evaluation. Explanations of certain phrases: Qu (fermentation and saccharification agent comprised of mixtures of micro-organisms; detailed explanation available in Section 3.1), Jiao (aromas derived from specific fermentation vessels, which are the habitat of mixtures of micro-organisms and grains, characteristic aromas in strong-aroma baijiu), Jiang (sauce aromas derived from unique production techniques characteristic of sauce-aroma baijiu), Mi (aromas derived from baijiu made from rice instead of sorghum), Chen (aromas derived from baijiu aging), Jiuhai (a specific aging vessel; detailed explanation available in Section 3.2).

Figure 2

Whisky flavor wheel.

Figure 3

Simplified illustration flowchart of baijiu (a) and whisky (b) production procedures prior to aging. Simplified illustration of traditional zeng (c). Explanations of Qu, daqu, xiaoqu, and fuqu and zeng can be found in Section 3.1 and Section 3.2.

Figure 3

Simplified illustration flowchart of baijiu (a) and whisky (b) production procedures prior to aging. Simplified illustration of traditional zeng (c). Explanations of Qu, daqu, xiaoqu, and fuqu and zeng can be found in Section 3.1 and Section 3.2.

Figure 4

Heatmap of the occurrences of key aroma compounds identified in baijiu and whisky.

Figure 5

Correlations among different styles of baijiu and whisky based on volatile compositions.