Effect of the production site on stable isotopes of ethanol in fruit spirits.

Stable isotope ratio analyzes are powerful analytical methods that can be used to check the authenticity of alcoholic beverages and to detect any adulteration. The Forensic Institute of National Tax and Customs Administration applies stable isotope techniques-SNIF-NMR (Site specific Natural Isotope Fractionation), IRMS (Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry) to determine the botanical origin of the alcoholic beverages. The process starting from fruit until the Hungarian "palinka" has several steps, most of them well studied: fermentation from fruit sugar to ethanol, sample preparation (Cadiot distillation) and isotopic measurements (SNIF-NMR, IRMS). To keep the complete process under control only the study of the isotope fractionation effect of distillation step during the production procedure is missing. In this study the control of the different scale fermentation and distillation step was investigated by comparing isotope ratios: (D/H), δ¹³C of ethanol distilled from spirits produced in laboratory and in a commercial/Hungarian distillery. The experimental...