JP7765207B2 - Whiskey highball drink and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a whiskey highball beverage and a method for producing the same.

A whiskey highball is a carbonated beverage containing whiskey. Whiskey highballs are also sold as ready-to-drink (RTD) products in bottles.

Regarding whiskey highball beverages, for example, Patent Document 1 (JP 2020-188743 A) discloses a bottled carbonated alcoholic beverage with a carbon dioxide gas pressure of 3.0 to 3.5 gas volumes and containing 5 to 50 ml/L of whiskey in 100% alcohol equivalent.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-188743

By the way, there are varieties of whiskey that are described as "salty." "Salty" is different from a salty taste, and refers to a flavor that evokes the aroma of the sea. Among whiskeys, many Scotch whiskeys have a "salty" flavor.

The inventors sought to provide a whiskey highball beverage with a "salty" flavor. It is believed that if a "salty" whiskey is used as the raw material, a highball with a "salty" flavor can be obtained. However, in this case, the whiskey that can be used as the raw material is limited. Furthermore, even if salty whiskey is used, if the amount is small, the "salty" flavor cannot be perceived. Furthermore, it is difficult to express such a "salty" flavor using flavorings.

The object of the present invention is to provide a technology that can impart a salty flavor to whiskey highball beverages by means other than salty whiskey.

The present inventors have found that the use of sodium chloride or potassium chloride can impart a salty flavor to a whiskey highball beverage.
[1] A whiskey highball drink containing whiskey and sodium chloride or potassium chloride.
[2] The whiskey highball beverage described in [1], wherein the sodium chloride concentration is 0.005 g/L or more.
[3] The whiskey highball beverage according to [1] or [2], wherein the potassium chloride concentration is 0.005 g/L or more.
[4] A whiskey highball beverage according to any one of [1] to [3], which does not contain heavy peated whiskey, or which contains 2 vol% or less of heavy peated whiskey when converted to an ethanol concentration of 40 vol%, and the heavy peated whiskey has a phenol concentration of 0.10 mg/L or more, a guaiacol concentration of 0.05 mg/L or more, and an o-cresol concentration of 0.05 mg/L or more when converted to an ethanol concentration of 40 vol%.
[5] The whiskey highball beverage according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the ethanol concentration is 8 vol% or less.
[6] A method for producing a whiskey highball beverage, comprising the step of adding sodium chloride or potassium chloride to a beverage liquid containing whiskey.

The present invention provides a technology that can impart a salty flavor to whiskey highball beverages by means other than salty whiskey.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
The whiskey highball beverage according to this embodiment contains whiskey and sodium chloride or potassium chloride, which imparts a salty flavor to the whiskey highball beverage.

"Whiskey highball drinks" refers to carbonated drinks that contain whiskey.

In this specification, the term "whiskey" is defined in accordance with the Liquor Tax Act of Japan in effect as of the filing date.
However, preferably, the whiskey is made by saccharifying germinated grains and water as raw materials, fermenting the saccharified alcohol-containing product, and then distilling the resulting product (limited to products in which the alcohol content of the distillate when distilled is less than 95%), and/or by saccharifying grains using germinated grains and water, and then distilling the resulting alcohol-containing product (limited to products in which the alcohol content of the distillate when distilled is less than 95%).

The total content of whiskey is, for example, 0.10 to 5.0 vol%, preferably 0.5 to 4.0 vol%, and more preferably 0.7 to 3.0 vol%, calculated as an ethanol concentration of 40 vol%.
In addition, "converted to an ethanol concentration of 40 vol%" means the value when the original alcohol-containing liquid is concentrated or diluted so that the ethanol concentration is 40 vol% to obtain a converted alcohol-containing liquid, and this converted alcohol-containing liquid is used.

The "whiskey" is not particularly limited. However, it is preferable that the whiskey highball beverage does not contain heavy peated whiskey, or if it does contain heavy peated whiskey, it contains only a small amount of heavy peated whiskey. Specifically, the content of heavy peated whiskey, calculated as an ethanol concentration of 40 vol%, is preferably 2 vol% or less.
Here, "heavy peated whiskey" means whiskey having a phenol concentration of 0.10 mg/L or more, a guaiacol concentration of 0.05 mg/L or more, and an o-cresol concentration of 0.05 mg/L or more, calculated as an ethanol concentration of 40 vol%.
Preferably, in the heavy peated whiskey, the phenol concentration is 1.0 mg/L or more, the guaiacol concentration is 0.5 mg/L or more, and the o-cresol concentration is 0.5 mg/L or more, calculated as an ethanol concentration of 40 vol %.
Heavy peated whiskey is a whiskey with a strong peaty aroma. The peaty aroma refers to the smoked aroma of peat. Heavy peated whiskey often has a salty flavor. Therefore, using a large amount of heavy peated whiskey makes it easy to impart a salty flavor.
However, according to this embodiment, it is possible to impart a salty flavor to a whiskey highball drink without using a large amount of heavy peated whiskey.

In a preferred embodiment, the whiskey highball beverage contains non-peat whiskey. "Non-peat whiskey" refers to whiskey having a phenol concentration of less than 0.10 mg/L, a guaiacol concentration of less than 0.05 mg/L, and an o-cresol concentration of less than 0.05 mg/L, calculated as an ethanol concentration of 40 vol%.
Generally, when non-peat whiskey is used, it is difficult to impart a salty flavor, unlike heavy peat whiskey. In contrast, according to the present embodiment, a salty flavor is imparted by using sodium chloride or potassium chloride. Therefore, even when non-peat whiskey is used, a salty flavor can be imparted.
The content of non-peat whiskey is, for example, 0.10 to 5.0 vol%, preferably 0.3 to 4.0 vol%, and more preferably 0.5 to 3.0 vol%, calculated as 40 vol% ethanol.

The phenol concentration in a whiskey highball beverage is, for example, 100 μg/L or less, preferably 70 μg/L or less, more preferably 60 μg/L or less, and for example, 0.1 μg/L or more, preferably 0.5 μg/L or more, more preferably 1.0 μg/L or more, and even more preferably 5.0 μg/L or more.
Alternatively, in another embodiment, the phenol concentration is preferably 5.0 μg/L or less, more preferably 1.0 μg/L or less.

The guaiacol concentration in a whiskey highball beverage is, for example, 50 μg/L or less, preferably 30 μg/L or less, more preferably 20 μg/L or less, and for example, 0.1 μg/L or more, preferably 0.5 μg/L or more, more preferably 1.0 μg/L or more, and even more preferably 1.5 μg/L or more.
Alternatively, in another embodiment, the guaiacol concentration is preferably 5.0 μg/L or less, more preferably 1.0 μg/L or less.

The o-cresol concentration in a whiskey highball beverage is, for example, 100 μg/L or less, preferably 70 μg/L or less, more preferably 40 μg/L or less, and for example, 0.1 μg/L or more, preferably 0.5 μg/L or more, more preferably 1.0 μg/L or more, and even more preferably 2.0 μg/L or more.
Alternatively, in another embodiment, the o-cresol concentration is preferably 5.0 μg/L or less, more preferably 1.0 μg/L or less.

As mentioned above, whiskey highball drinks contain sodium chloride or potassium chloride. The inclusion of sodium chloride or potassium chloride can impart a salty flavor. Please note that "salty" refers to the flavor, and is different from the "salty taste" perceived by the tongue, etc.

The sodium chloride concentration of a whiskey highball beverage is, for example, 0.005 g/L or more, preferably 0.01 g/L or more, more preferably 0.02 g/L or more, and even more preferably 0.03 g/L or more. Such a concentration can impart a sufficiently salty flavor. Furthermore, the sodium chloride concentration is, for example, 0.2 g/L or less, preferably 0.15 g/L or less, and more preferably 0.10 g/L or less. Within these ranges, the saltiness does not increase significantly.

The potassium chloride concentration in a whiskey highball beverage is, for example, 0.005 g/L or more, preferably 0.01 g/L or more, more preferably 0.02 g/L or more, and even more preferably 0.03 g/L or more. Such a concentration can impart a sufficiently salty flavor. Furthermore, the potassium chloride concentration is, for example, 0.3 g/L or less, preferably 0.25 g/L or less, and more preferably 0.20 g/L or less. Within this range, the saltiness does not increase significantly.

In one embodiment, sodium chloride and potassium chloride are used in combination. In this case, the total concentration of sodium chloride and potassium chloride is, for example, 0.005 g/L or more, preferably 0.01 g/L or more, and for example, 0.2 g/L or less, preferably 0.15 g/L or less.

The ethanol concentration of a whiskey highball beverage is not particularly limited, but is, for example, 8 vol % or less, preferably 0.1 to 8 vol %.
In one embodiment, the ethanol concentration of the whiskey highball beverage is, for example, 4 vol% or less, preferably 3 vol% or less, more preferably 2 vol% or less, and even more preferably 1 vol% or less.
In another embodiment, the ethanol concentration of the whiskey highball beverage is, for example, 3 to 0.5 vol %, preferably 1 to 0.5%.
The ethanol concentration can be adjusted, for example, by adding raw material alcohol or the like.

Whiskey highball beverages may contain ingredients other than those listed above, as needed. For example, other ingredients may include spirits, dietary fiber, acidulants, sweeteners, fruit juice, extracts, colorings, and flavorings.

The method for producing a whiskey highball beverage according to this embodiment includes the step of adding sodium chloride or potassium chloride to a beverage liquid containing whiskey. For example, whiskey as a raw material is prepared. The whiskey is then mixed with carbonated water. If necessary, the alcohol content is adjusted using raw material alcohol or the like. Sodium chloride or potassium chloride, and other raw materials as necessary, are also added. This allows the whiskey highball beverage according to this embodiment to be obtained. Note that regular water may be used instead of carbonated water, and carbonation may be performed later to add carbonation.

The following examples are provided to explain the present invention in more detail. However, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the following examples.

We prepared a heavy peated whiskey with an ethanol concentration of 54 vol% and a non-peated whiskey with an ethanol concentration of 46 vol%.

The guaiacol concentration, phenol concentration, and o-cresol concentration of each whiskey were measured by the methods described in the following literature.
“V. Mall and P. Schieberle, Sex, Smoke, and Spirits: The Role of Chemistry, 9, 107-116.”
Specifically, the measurement was carried out according to the following procedure.
<Measurement method>
A known amount of isotope-labeled internal standard (commercially available: Sigma-Aldrich) was added to a whiskey sample, and then distillation was carried out using a SAFE (Solvent Assisted Flavor Evaporator).
The distillate was extracted with diethyl ether, washed with brine to remove ethanol from the organic layer, concentrated using a Vigreux column, and further microdistilled to approximately 0.2 mL.
The concentrated distillate was subjected to HRGC-ion trap MS (CI method) using methanol as the reaction gas.
Quantitation was performed by monitoring the molecular ions derived from phenol derivatives (guaiacol, phenol, o-cresol) and their respective labeled standards.

The concentration of each component is shown in Table 1. Table 1 also shows the concentration of each component when converted to an ethanol concentration of 40 vol % in whiskey.

Test Example 1: Investigation of the content of heavy peated whiskey Heavy peated whiskey or non-peated whiskey was diluted with carbonated water to the concentrations shown in Table 2, and whiskey highball drinks according to Reference Examples 1 to 8 were prepared.
The whiskey highball beverages of Reference Examples 1 to 8 were evaluated for saltiness, complexity, and saltiness by sensory evaluation. Each item was evaluated on the following five-point scale, with Reference Example 1 as a control.
(Sensory score)
5: Stronger than the control 4: Slightly stronger than the control 3: Equivalent to the control 2: Slightly weaker than the control 1: Weaker than the control

The results are shown in Table 2. As shown in Table 2, the "salty" flavor tended to weaken as the content of heavy peated whisky decreased. In Reference Examples 5 to 7, where the proportion of heavy peated whisky was 2 vol% or less when converted to an ethanol concentration of 40 vol%, the salty flavor was particularly difficult to detect. Furthermore, in Reference Example 8, where non-peated whisky was used as the whisky, no "salty" flavor was detected.

Test Example 2: Examination of sodium chloride and potassium chloride (heavy peated whiskey)
Raw material alcohol, heavy peat whiskey, potassium chloride and/or sodium chloride were mixed, and the concentrations of each raw material were adjusted with carbonated water to prepare whiskey highball beverages according to Comparative Example 1 and Examples 1 to 13. Tables 3 and 4 show the concentrations of the raw material alcohol, heavy peat whiskey, potassium chloride and sodium chloride (the amounts of carbonated water used are omitted).
The whiskey highball beverages thus prepared were subjected to sensory evaluation for saltiness, complexity, and saltiness in the same manner as in Test Example 1, with Comparative Example 1 used as a control. The results are shown in Tables 3 and 4.
As shown in Tables 3 and 4, Examples 1 to 13 all had a stronger "salty" flavor than Comparative Example 1. Furthermore, the complexity of the flavor also increased. This indicates that sodium chloride and potassium chloride have the effect of imparting a "salty" flavor. Meanwhile, the salty taste was not different between Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Example 1. In other words, it was found that adding potassium chloride in an amount up to 0.2 g/L did not affect the salty taste.
Furthermore, the saltiness increased in Example 10, but the saltiness in Examples 6 to 9 was unchanged from that of Comparative Example 1. This indicates that sodium chloride does not affect the saltiness even when added in an amount up to 0.1 g/L.
The saltiness of Examples 11 to 13 was not different from that of Comparative Example 1. This indicates that when potassium chloride and sodium chloride are used in combination, the saltiness is not affected as long as the total content of both is up to 0.10 g/L.

Test Example 3: Examination of sodium chloride and potassium chloride (non-peat whiskey)
Raw material alcohol, non-peat whiskey, potassium chloride and/or sodium chloride were mixed, and the concentrations of each raw material were adjusted with carbonated water to prepare whiskey highball beverages according to Comparative Example 2 and Examples 14 to 16. Table 5 shows the concentrations of the raw material alcohol, non-peat whiskey, potassium chloride and sodium chloride (the amounts of carbonated water used are omitted).
The prepared whiskey highball beverages were subjected to sensory evaluation for saltiness, complexity, and saltiness in the same manner as in Test Example 1, with Comparative Example 2 as a control. The results are shown in Table 5.
As shown in Table 5, Examples 14 to 16 all had a stronger "salty" flavor than Comparative Example 2. Therefore, it was found that even when non-peat whiskey was used, the "salty" flavor could be imparted by using potassium chloride and sodium chloride.

Test Example 4: Investigation of ethanol concentration Raw material alcohol, heavy peat whiskey, potassium chloride, and sodium chloride were mixed, and the concentrations of each raw material were adjusted with carbonated water to prepare whiskey highball beverages according to Examples 17 to 21. Table 6 shows the concentrations of the raw material alcohol, heavy peat whiskey, potassium chloride, and sodium chloride (the amounts of carbonated water used are omitted).
The prepared whiskey highball beverages were subjected to a sensory evaluation of the salty taste in the same manner as in Test Example 1, with Example 17 used as a control. In addition, the "peat aroma" was also evaluated on a 5-point scale (the higher the score, the stronger the peaty aroma).
The results are shown in Table 6. Compared to Example 17, Examples 18 to 21 had a stronger peaty aroma. In other words, it was found that the lower the ethanol concentration, the more easily the peaty aroma was perceived. From this, it was found that when sodium chloride and/or potassium chloride is added to a whiskey highball beverage with a low ethanol concentration, a "salty" flavor is expressed and the peaty aroma is more easily perceived. It is clear that as a result of the intensification of the salty flavor and peaty aroma, a highball-flavored beverage with an authentic Scotch whiskey highball feel can be realized.

Claims (6)

Whiskey and
Sodium chloride or potassium chloride,
A whiskey highball drink comprising:
the whiskey contains heavy peated whiskey, and the content of heavy peated whiskey in the whiskey highball beverage is 2 vol% or less in terms of an ethanol concentration of 40 vol%,
The heavy peated whiskey has a phenol concentration of 0.10 mg/L or more, a guaiacol concentration of 0.05 mg/L or more, and an o-cresol concentration of 0.05 mg/L or more when converted to an ethanol concentration of 40 vol%,
A whiskey highball beverage in which the sodium chloride concentration in the whiskey highball beverage is 0.005 g/L or more and 0.2 g/L or less, or the potassium chloride concentration in the whiskey highball beverage is 0.005 g/L or more and 0.3 g/L or less, or when sodium chloride and potassium chloride are used in combination, the total concentration of sodium chloride and potassium chloride is 0.005 g/L or more and 0.2 g/L or less. The whiskey highball beverage according to claim 1, wherein the sodium chloride concentration is 0.01 g/L or more. The whiskey highball beverage according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the potassium chloride concentration is 0.01 g/L or more. The whiskey contains non-peated whiskey,
the content of non-peat whiskey in the whiskey highball beverage is 0.10 to 5.0 vol% in terms of 40 vol% ethanol;
The non-peat whiskey has a phenol concentration of less than 0.10 mg/L, a guaiacol concentration of less than 0.05 mg/L, and an o-cresol concentration of less than 0.05 mg/L when converted to an ethanol concentration of 40 vol%.
The whiskey highball beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The whiskey highball beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 4, having an ethanol concentration of 8 vol% or less. A method for producing a whiskey highball beverage, comprising the step of adding sodium chloride or potassium chloride to a beverage liquid containing whiskey,
the whiskey contains heavy peated whiskey, and the content of heavy peated whiskey in the whiskey highball beverage is 2 vol% or less in terms of an ethanol concentration of 40 vol%,
The heavy peated whiskey has a phenol concentration of 0.10 mg/L or more, a guaiacol concentration of 0.05 mg/L or more, and an o-cresol concentration of 0.05 mg/L or more when converted to an ethanol concentration of 40 vol%,
A method for producing a whiskey highball beverage, wherein the sodium chloride concentration in the whiskey highball beverage is 0.005 g/L or more and 0.2 g/L or less, or the potassium chloride concentration in the whiskey highball beverage is 0.005 g/L or more and 0.3 g/L or less, or when sodium chloride and potassium chloride are used in combination, the total concentration of sodium chloride and potassium chloride is 0.005 g/L or more and 0.2 g/L or less.