# Rum Wonk Article - Esters, Volatile Compounds, and Congeners - What's the Difference?

**URL:** <https://community.rumx.com/t/rum-wonk-article-esters-volatile-compounds-and-congeners-whats-the-difference/7447>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [March 10, 2023, 7:05pm UTC](https://community.rumx.com/t/rum-wonk-article-esters-volatile-compounds-and-congeners-whats-the-difference/7447 "2023-03-10T19:05:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![cocktailwonk](https://community.rumx.com/user_avatar/community.rumx.com/cocktailwonk/32/45545_2.png) [@cocktailwonk](https://community.rumx.com/u/cocktailwonk)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 7:05pm UTC](https://community.rumx.com/t/rum-wonk-article-esters-volatile-compounds-and-congeners-whats-the-difference/7447/1 "2023-03-10T19:05:47Z")

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Some of you may know that my rum-related writing has transitioned from [CocktailWonk.com](http://CocktailWonk.com) to [RumWonk.com](http://RumWonk.com), hosted on Substack.

Oftentimes online discussions influence me to write a quick post. For instance, I recently saw a conversation that was very “obsessed” with ester levels, so I wrote this article to show that esters are just one part of the aroma and flavor equation. Sometimes less than 25% !

> **[Esters, Volatile Compounds, and Congeners - What's the Difference?](https://www.rumwonk.com/p/esters-volatile-compounds-and-congeners)**
>
> Esters, volatile compounds, and congeners are different but related concepts. Without some technical background, it’s easy to misunderstand what each measurement conveys. In what follows, I’ll provide some necessary background and then wrap things up...

I hope you enjoy! It’s free to subscribe to RumWonk, but a few people have generously “upgraded” to paid subscriptions, which helps me pay the bills while I keep writing about rum.