In a double-blind study, 18 male students, aged 21 to 30 years, drank tap water or 4 doses of 0.4 ml of alcohol per kg of body weight at hourly intervals, as bourbon or vodka. Psychomotor tests were given before and 1 and about 5 hours after drinking began. Differences between blood alcohol levels after both beverages (each containing 43% alcohol) were negligible at 1 and at 5 hr. Simple and complex reaction-time tasks showed differences at 1 hr after drinking between the water and the beverages conditions but not between the 2 beverages. On a mirror-drawing task the improvement which occurred between the predrinking and alcohol session at 1 hr was greatest after water and least after bourbon (p<.05). Mean difference scores between initial and the 5-hr sessions in the reaction-time and the mirror-drawing tasks showed the same trend: improvement was greatest after water and least after bourbon. The immediate effects of alcoholic beverages upon reaction time seem to be determined by alcohol, while the congener effects are minimal; after the alcohol is metabolized the congeners seem to have a deleterious effect which is maximized when decision-making is involved rather than simple “reflexive” responding. In another experiment, 18 male students were given 4 doses of alcohol at hourly intervals, each containing 0.2 ml of alcohol per kg. They were assigned randomly to 1 of 3 beverages: synthetic bourbon, synthetic vodka, both containing 4 times the level of congeners in commercial beverages, or congener-free synthetic alcohol. Kogan and Wallach's 12-item choice—dilemma questionnaire was administered to the group after drinking (mean blood alcohol level of 0.08%) and to another sober group of 18. The alcohol-affected subjects, on the average, took greater risks than did the sober ones. The only significant difference in performance was that between the sober and the bourbon-drinking groups. Those given bourbon took significantly more risks than those given vodka and tended to take more risk than those given synthetic alcohol. The pattern of differences in risk taking between the alcohol-affected and sober groups was similar to that found in previous research on young and old groups. Mechanisms which may account for greater risk taking after drinking seem similar to those in young people.