Wooden barrels are used in the agei

Wooden barrels are used in the ageing or maturation of many alcoholic beverages, namely brandies andwines. However, the high costs related to ageing in wooden barrels have led to a search for alternativetechnologies. In this study we examined the application of wood fragments to the beverage in order topromote an accelerated ageing. We evaluated the sensory and chemical modifications in brandy aged inpresence of two types of wood fragments, from two different woods (Limousin oak wood and Portuguesechestnut wood), and compared those with a brandy aged in wooden barrels.The results of the analysis of variance revealed more significant effects of wood botanical species thanthe ageing system on the sensory attributes. Concerning the ageing system, significant differences inbrandy colour attributes were found, namely golden, topaz and greenish; olfactory attributes such asalcoholic, toasted and coffee; and the gustatory attribute, bitter. The brandies aged in the presence ofwood tablets presented the highest intensities of topaz and greenish colour, toasted and coffee odours,while the brandies aged in wooden barrels presented the highest intensities of golden colour, alcoholodour and bitter taste. However, the overall quality of the brandies was similar.The analysis of odourant compounds showed a great discrimination of the brandies based on the ageingsystem. The brandies aged in wooden barrels presented the highest levels of several ethyl esters, acids,furanic aldehydes and the lowest levels of volatile phenols.Thus, considering the overall quality of the brandies, these results suggest the use of wood fragmentsto be an interesting alternative technology. On the other hand, the chemical analysis of the brandiesshowed the possibility of discriminating the ageing technologies based on odourant compound levels.