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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Christopher Intagliata.
Bourbon whiskey doesn't have to be made in Bourbon County, Kentucky. But it does have to be produced from at least 51 percent corn and be aged1 in unused charred2 oak barrels.
Tennessee whiskey, on the other hand, must be made in Tennessee, as the name implies. And in? addition to the steps that create a bourbon, the distilled3 whiskey undergoes another one called the Lincoln County Process, "where you take your fresh whiskey distillate and you filter it through sugar maple4 charcoal5. It's also called charcoal mellowing7."
Trent Kerley is a graduate student in food science at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. And just for the record: "Personally, I prefer bourbon whiskeys."
Filtration through charcoal made from the wood of the sugar maple tree is known to mellow6 the flavor of Tennessee whiskeys like Jack8 Daniels. But the underlying9 chemistry was a bit more of a mystery. So Kerley t?eamed up with the Sugarlands Distilling10 Company in Gatlinburg, Tennessee to put their whiskey to the test.
He used gas chromatography, coupled with human sniffing11, to identify about three dozen aromatic12 compounds contributing to the whiskey's flavor profile. He then tracked the quantities of four of them — two branched alcohols and two ethyl esters — before and after the Lincoln County Process. Turns out the charcoal stripped out a third of the branched alcohols and nearly half of the ethyl esters. Kerley's advisor13, food chemist John Peter Munafo:
"Take-home message is that branched alcohols and the ethyl esters that we analyzed14 in this study decreased, and the distillate was smoother tasting and less harsh after the Lincoln County Process." The researchers presented the work at an American Chemical Society meeting in Orlando.
The goal, Kerley says, is to take some of the guesswork out of making great whiskey — especially when the stakes are high. "There was a head distiller at one of the big bourbon distilleries who said, you really only get two chances to make a 15-year-old whiskey." Munafo again: "Basically we're just optimizing15 the tools to help the distillers get to the flavor profile they want."
As for the flavor profile he wants? "Well, I'm not saying Tennessee whiskey is better. It just is."
Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.
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1
aged
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adj.年老的,陈年的 | |
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charred
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v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式);烧焦 | |
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3
distilled
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adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 );从…提取精华 | |
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maple
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n.槭树,枫树,槭木 | |
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charcoal
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n.炭,木炭,生物炭 | |
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6
mellow
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adj.柔和的;熟透的;v.变柔和;(使)成熟 | |
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mellowing
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软化,醇化 | |
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jack
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n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
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9
underlying
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adj.在下面的,含蓄的,潜在的 | |
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distilling
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n.蒸馏(作用)v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )( distilled的过去分词 );从…提取精华 | |
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sniffing
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n.探查法v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的现在分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说 | |
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aromatic
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adj.芳香的,有香味的 | |
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advisor
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n.顾问,指导老师,劝告者 | |
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analyzed
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v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 );分解;解释;对…进行心理分析 | |
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optimizing
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v.使最优化,使尽可能有效( optimize的现在分词 );最佳化;寻优 | |
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