Laboratory courses, which offer hands on experiences unavailable in lecture courses, are invaluable to undergraduate students, especially in the sciences. It is generally accepted that access to and experience with advanced instrumentation allows students to make the connection between theory and practice and often gets students excited about science. As expense usually precludes the incorporation of expensive equipment in undergraduate laboratories, we here use a student grade, modestly priced Vernier gas chromatograph to separate the volatile compounds in various grades of bourbon using ambient air as a carrier gas. Comparing our results to those in the literature, we will then use a series of standards to identify the isolated volatiles and provide a direct correlation between our isolates and authentic samples via retention times. As this student grade instrument is incompatible with large amounts of water that would be present in aliquots taken directly from our samples, we also present a simple procedure for capturing the volatile components while minimizing the amount of water present.

Probing the profile of volatile organics in American bourbon using a student grade gas chromatograph

251st National Meeting (2016)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.