Multivariate evaluation of the phenolic composition of cachaça aged in barrels made of different kinds of wood.

This study sought to evaluate the phenolic composition of cachacas aged in barrels constructed of oak, jequitiba, chestnut, amburana, balm, bay and cinnamon jatoba employing Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The levels of phenolic compounds were centered on the mean and subjected to ACP. The results indicated that the cachaca aged in chestnut (36 months), oak (48 months) cinnamon and bay differed from the others by possessing a higher content of gallic acid, ellagic acid and eugenol, respectively. The samples aged in amburana (48 months), balsam (36 and 48 months), jequitiba, oak (24 and 36 months) and jatoba showed characteristics similar to one another, highlighting the importance of the ACP analysis to show the effect of the type of wood on the phenolic composition of aged cachaca. Additional keywords: cachaca; phenols; wood.