Application of Chromatography and Spectrometry to the Authentication of Alcoholic Beverages

The use of gas chromatography (GC), gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and UV–VIS spectrophotometry for identifying the falsification of strong alcoholic beverages (vodka, gin, cognac, and whiskey) was considered. In the GC analysis of ethyl alcohol and vodkas based on it, the test alcohol was assigned to synthetic alcohol or to biochemically produced alcohol using a set of typical impurities, markers of the alcohol nature, which present in the test alcohol in a certain ratio and can be determined by GC or GC–MS analysis. The multicomponent analysis of cognacs and related liquors can reveal the replacement of cognac spirit with alcohol produced from nongrape raw materials, to determine whether the cognac spirit was in contact with oak wood and how long was the duration of its aging, and to detect the falsification of the age by adding certain ingredients. The limitations of chromatographic and spectrometric analytical techniques in the identification of adulterated alcoholic beverages was demonstrated. The validation criteria for testing the identification of alcoholic beverage components by chromatographic techniques received special attention.