The aim of the present study was to compare taste responses to sweet, bitter, sour and salty solutions in male alcoholics and control subjects. The groups did not differ in terms of rated intensity or pleasantness of sucrose (1-30%), quinine (0.001-0.005%), citric acid (0.02-0.1%) and sodium chloride (0.18-0.9%) solutions. The proportion of sweet-likers was also similar in both groups.