Abstract: The aroma components of three Chinese Wuliangye liquors of different ages (1 year, 15 years and 30 years) were analyzed by headspace-solid phase?microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-olfactometry-aroma extract dilution analysis (GC-O-AEDA) and gas?chromatography-mass?spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 30 aroma compounds were identified, including 18 esters, 2 alcohols, 5 acids and 5 aldehydes. Among them, 9 aroma compounds were detected in all three liquors, which could be regarded as key aroma components since their flavor dilution (FD) factors were equal to or higher than 256. Quantitative analysis indicated that the total content of aroma compounds decreased along with wine age. Sensory evaluation was also conducted. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that there were statistically significant differences in all seven sensory attributes evaluated among three liquors (P < 0.05). Duncan’s multiple comparison test indicated that aging, floral, sweet, caramel and grain aroma were most distinct from each other.

Key words: Wuliangye liquor, key aroma components, gas chromatography-olfactometry-aroma extract dilution analysis (GC-O-AEDA), gas chromatograghy-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)