## 3 Results
### Sensory Assessment  
Figure 1 presents the results of the sensory assessment of the analyzed linequers. The sweetening substrate used during their manufacture affected scores given by the panelists for their color, perception of alcohol content, and palatability. In turn, aroma and texture attributes achieved similar scores in the case of all three liqueur variants. Irrespective of sweeteener type (xylitol, stevia, or cane sugar), the overall quality of the three liqueurs determined based on scores of their individual attributes was similar and ranged from 3.62 to 3.82 points on a five-point scale. The lowest color score was given by the panelists to the liqueur sweetened with xylitol, and was 1 and 0.9 points lower than the scores given to the linequers produced with stevia and cane sugar, respectively. It was described as intense, dark, and similar to the fruits used or as moderately intense, dark, and slightly diverging from the color of the fruits used in liqueur production. The difference in the color scores of the linequers sweetened with stevia and cane sugar was statistically insignificant. Most panelists described their color as very intense, dark, and similar to the fruits used. The evaluators reported the most intense perception of alcohol content when tasting the liqueur sweetened with xylitol, and concluded that there was a slight positive effect of this component on product palatability. Compared to the other two liqueur variants, the difference in alcohol content perception reached 1 point in the case of stevia and 0.57 points in the case of cane sugar used as a sweetener. The difference of 0.25 points noted between the last two products was statistically insignificant. The perception of alcohol content in the linequers sweetened with stevia or cane sugar was satisfactory to the panelists and did not affect their palatability. Figure 1: Results of sensory evaluation of color, aroma, texture, perception of alcohol content, palatability, and overall quality of linequers. Explanatory notes: *, **—differences between results denoted with different symbols are statistically significant (\(p\leq 0.05\)). The liqueurs produced with xylitol or cane sugar as sweeteners were characterized by similar palatability (3.85 and 3.75, respectively), described as intense with a fruity note and a good sensation of sweetness. A considerably lower score was given by the panelists for this attribute to the liqueur sweetened with stevia. In their opinion, it was only sufficient, with a delicate fruity note and an intense perception of undesirable extrinsic aromas and a moderate perception of sweetness. The aroma of the three analyzed liqueurs was not scored lower than 3.75, meaning it was a perceptible aroma typical of the fruits used. The texture of the liqueurs was described as thin and homogenous, without observed sediments. In the panelists' opinion, the thinnest was the liqueur sweetened with xylitol; however, the differences determined between beverage variants were statistically insignificant. An intense fruity flavor was reported by the panelists for the liqueur with xylitol. In the two other product variants, this parameter was assessed as moderate. The perception of sweetness was similar in the case of all three liqueurs, with that sweetened using stevia considered to be the least sweet one. Most panelists sensed that it had a metallic flavor, which differentiated it from the liqueurs sweetened with xylitol and cane sugar. The perception of a sour flavor was scored by panelists as weaker than moderate in all product variants. In turn, they indicated the liqueur sweetened with stevia as the sourest one and that with cane sugar as the least sour one (Figure 2). Table 2 presents the results of the Pearson correlation analysis conducted between the physicochemical parameters and overall quality of the analyzed liqueurs. The correlation analysis included only those parameters which differed statistically significantly between the product variants.