## 1 Introduction  
Glycerol is a biologically important compound that is both a naturally occurring triage sugar and a food additive (E 422) [1]. Therefore, its concentration in foods and beverages needs to be controlled for food quality and safety purposes. Consequently, reliable analytical methods for determining it in different and often challenging matrices are urgently needed. One of the most powerful analytical techniques used in measuring glycerol in beverages is High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC); some examples of analytical approaches developed for beverages are discussed below. Some include the possible chemical constituents accompanying glycerol in the beverage matrix to illustrate the important analytical challenges [2]. An HPLC method involving a cation ion exchange column, preceded by a guard column, in conjunction with a refractive index detector was described by [PERSON] et al. [3], which proved successful for the measurement of glycerol in beers. This group reported [3] that controlling glycerol was important, as levels below or above the threshold could be detrimental to the product's flavour. The authors showed complete chromatographic separation of glycerol from ethyl alcohol, as well as earlier eluting unidentified compounds; levels of glycerol were between 0.925 and 1.502 gL\({}^{-1}\), and ethanol ranged from 3.0 to 5.0% (\(v/v\)) in a variety of commercial beers. HPLC methods have also been investigated in the context of wine analysis. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [4] successfully developed an HPLC method for wine analysis that could measure glycerol, as well as other sugars and carboxylic acids. The authors determined that the glycerol content of white wine was 6.45 gL\({}^{-1}\). A similar study was also reported by [PERSON] et al. [5]. [PERSON] et al. [6] reported on an HPLC method that was applied to the determination of glycerol, glucose, and fructose in wines to ascertain whether the drinks were high- or standard-quality red and white wines. This assay was achieved using HPLC in combination with a modified polar-bonded NH\({}_{2}\)-silica phase column and a refractive index detector. The authors indicated that the concentration of glycerol in high-standard red wine was 3.30-7.67 gL\({}^{-1}\) and in white wine, the levels were 1.65-5.87 gL\({}^{-1}\). An interesting method involving HPLC combined with an FTIR detection system was applied to the determination of glycerol in red wine [7]. It was shown that lactic acid co-eluted with glycerol on the column, but the on-line FTIR detection system was able to resolve the responses of the two compounds for quantification. The glycerol concentration was determined for seven samples of red wine, and the range was reported to be 7.88-9.29 gL\({}^{-1}\). [PERSON] et al. [8] have developed a reproducible and high-throughput technique for on-line clean-up, coupled with HPLC, for routine analysis of glycerol and other small molecules such as amino acids. An ion exchange analytical column was used in conjunction with an RI detector, and the concentration found in red wine was found to contain 6.9 gL\({}^{-1}\). In addition to glycerol, [PERSON] et al. [8] simultaneously determined a variety of other species by the reported method. In red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon), 0.45 gL\({}^{-1}\) of citric acid, 1.99 gL\({}^{-1}\) of tartaric acid, 0.46 gL\({}^{-1}\) of malic acid, 0.7 gL\({}^{-1}\) of succinic acid, 1.91 gL\({}^{-1}\) of lactic acid, and 0.51 gL\({}^{-1}\) of acetic acid were present and determined. Glucose 0.15 gL\({}^{-1}\), fructose, and ethanol 122 gL\({}^{-1}\) were also present but did not appear to interfere with the determination of glycerol. The HPLC-based methods described above have shown how glycerol may be determined effectively in a range of alcoholic drinks, even in the presence of a variety of other naturally occurring species. However, using this sophisticated instrument has drawbacks. These include the high cost of the instrument, which requires special expertise to operate and maintain, and the latter is often time-consuming.