In 1943, the Van Den Bylaardt Family began producing their first cachaça aged in oak barrels. Today, three generations later, Cachaça Bylaardt is a solid and dynamic company. With a mix of products consisting of spirits, liqueurs and traditional artisanal cachaça aged in oak barrels. Composition of Cachaça Ouro. More than 300 substances are included in the composition of gold cachaça, of which ninety-eight percent (98%) consist of water and ethanol. The remaining two percent (2%), the secondary compounds, are those that give the drink its organoleptic characteristics. The substances contained in the must, extracted from the sugarcane stalk, undergo reactions among themselves and as a result of the fermentation, distillation and aging processes. Rest and Aging. During the resting period, or maturation of gold cachaça, which lasts from three to six months, the oxidation of aldehydes occurs, responsible for the strong odor that bothers the nasal passages. During the aging of cachaça, the interaction between the drink and the wood from which the container is made can occur: removal of substances by evaporation, adsorption or interaction with the wood incorporation of substances from the wood by the cachaça oxidation of substances released by the cachaça. There are also other chemical, physical and sensory transformations: chemical interactions of distillation substances with each other ethanol reacts with oxygen phenolic acids are formed from the oxidation of aldehydes formation of phenolic acids as a result of the decomposition into monomers of hemicellulose and cellulose pleasant aromas appear in the drink due to the formation of phenolic esters, as a result of reactions between alcohols in the drink and phenolic acids, an increase in the viscosity and oiliness of the drink, a change in color, depending on the type of wood from which the container is made. In the case of aged cachaça, hemicellulose and other pentoses and their polymers, when degraded by acids, also generate furfural. When there are microaerations during the aging of the cachaça, the aldehydes are converted into their corresponding acids, the same occurring with the phenolic aldehydes, coming from the wood in the barrel. If the drink is stored for more than a year, the esterification of these acids with ethanol begins. Source: Bylaardt website.