Herb Aroma Compounds
By: Brent Nakano
Understanding the aromatic compounds in common cocktail ingredients can be helpful with cocktail development, as seen in the Pairing of Aroma Compounds segment in Guide to Recipe Development, and to provide a better understanding of flavor descriptors that can translate to other beverages. The following are the findings in the academic literature of aroma compounds that create each herb’s “signature” flavor. The list is meant to provide rough perspective on each listed herb’s aroma compounds as found by Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry, though one should take into account that variations occur due to factors like if the herb was dried or not dried, and the extraction technique used, the specific cultivar analyzed, species, pests, soil conditions, harvest season, geographical location, climatic and growth conditions.