Taste interaction of ethyl alcohol with sweet, salty, sour and bitter compounds

The influence of ethyl alcohol in concentrations ranging from 4 to 24%, on the perceived taste intensities of sucrose, citric acid, quinine, and sodium chloride was determined by 24 subjects. A paired comparison method was used in which subjects selected the sample with the greater taste intensity (sweetness, sourness, bitterness or saltiness) as well as rating the intensity on a 13‐point scale. The alcohol generally enhanced the sweetness of sucrose, with results varying slightly according to the subjects' task. The sourness of citric acid, and the saltiness of sodium chloride at all but the lowest concentration, were depressed by increasing additions of alcohol. Alcohol significantly enhanced the bitterness of quinine at all four concentrations. Although these results disagree with previously reported electrophysiological measurements on alcohol‐quinine mixtures, they were internally consistent, and meaningful in terms of alcoholic beverage consumption behaviour.