Analysis of the Provenance of Whiskies through SPME-GCxGC-TOFMS

Dr. Damien Steyer is founder and CEO of Twistaroma, a laboratory specialist dedicated to the analysis of volatile and odor-active compounds. With more than 15 years of experience in aroma science, gas chromatography, and solvent-free extraction techniques such as SPME, his work focuses on the detailed characterisation of complex matrices including spirits, essential oils, and plant-derived products.

Drawing on a strong background in analytical chemistry and flavour research, Damien helps translate advanced chemical data into meaningful insight for product development, quality evaluation, and sensory understanding

This webinar will showcase a headspace SPME-GCxGC–TOFMS approach for the advanced volatile profiling of 11 whiskies.

Combining sample enrichment by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) with separation on a LECO Pegasus BTX 4D two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC) platform and data processing in ChromaTOF Sync 2D, the workflow reveals highly resolved chemical fingerprints for comparative whisky analysis.

The study identifies discriminating markers between samples and explores how volatile signatures relate to whisky style, origin, and sensory character.

The presentation will demonstrate how this strategy can be applied to flavor characterization, comparative product assessment, and troubleshooting in whisky analysis.