Visualization of Flavor of Sake Using Taste Sensor and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

In the alcoholic beverage industry, expressing “flavor” of sake in an easy-to-understand manner is one of the important issues. So far, we have been conducting equipment analyses using taste sensors and sensory evaluation when people actually drink sake in order to easily understand the “taste” of sake felt by the tongue. By combining them statistically, we have developed the "Sake Flavor Chart". However, the map does not include data on the “scent” of sake. The scent of sake is composed of various ingredients such as banana and apple-like scent called “Ginjo” scent, aged scent, and aldehyde odor, and is a very important factor in expressing the "flavor" of sake. The purpose of this study is to improve the accuracy of the existing sake taste map by comprehensively analyzing the "flavor" of sake using a taste sensor and GC-MS. In this research, “Sake Flavor Chart” becomes a tool that can express not only the “taste” but also the “scent” of sake in an objective and easy-to-understand manner by approaching the flavor of sake from more diverse perspectives than before.