Effect of different varieties of sorghum on the flavor quality of sauce-flavor Baijiu

To investigate the effect of sorghum varieties on the flavor quality of strong-flavor (Nongxiangxing) Baijiu, strong-flavor Baijiu was brewed by using non-glutinous sorghum in Shanxi, glutinous sorghum in Anhui and non-glutinous sorghum in northeast China as raw materials, and the volatile flavor components of the original liquor samples were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC). The results showed that there were significant differences in volatile flavor components of original liquor brewed with 3 varieties of sorghum (P<0.05). The content of ethyl hexanoate in the original liquor of strong-flavor Baijiu brewed by glutinous sorghum in Anhui was the highest, which was 275.90 mg/100 ml. The contents of ethyl acetate, ethyl heptanate, ethyl octanate, acetic acid, caproic acid, secondary butanol, furfural, acetaldehyde and acetaldehyde in the original liquor of strong-flavor Baijiu brewed by non-glutinous sorghum in Shanxi were significantly higher than those of the Baijiu brewed by other 2 varieties of sorghum (P<0.05). The content of valeric acid in the original liquor of strong-flavor Baijiu brewed by non-glutinous sorghum in northeast China was significantly higher than that of the Baijiu brewed by other 2 types of sorghum (P<0.05). There were 11 volatile flavor components with odor activity value (OAV)>100 in the strong-flavor Baijiu samples brewed by non-glutinous sorghum in Shanxi and glutinous sorghum in Anhui, while there were 9 volatile flavor components with OAV>100 in the strong-flavor Baijiu samples brewed by non-glutinous sorghum in northeast China. The OAV of ethyl hexanoate in the original liquor of strong-flavor Baijiu brewed by 3 varieties of sorghum was the largest, which played an important role in the style characteristics of strong-flavor Baijiu. The original liquor of strong-flavor Baijiu brewed by glutinous sorghum in Anhui had the highest sensory score of 93 points, with the optimal quality, and it was more suitable to be used as the raw material for brewing strong-flavor Baijiu.