Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ethanol, whiskey, and ethanol with n-propyl, n-butyl, and iso-amyl alcohols.

Plasma ethanol concentration, reaction time, and electroencephalogram (EEG) were recorded in 6 normal men after ingestion of ethanol along (Group 1), whiskey (Group 2), or a mixture of ethanol, n-propanol, n-butanol, and iso-amyl alcohol (Group 3). The peak plasma ethanol concentration and the total area under the plasma concentration:time curve of ethanol did not depend upon the type of drink given, but the half-life of the terminal exponential phase of ethanol elimination was longer in Group 3. In each study period reaction time increased, there was a relative increase in delta activity (2 to 3 Hz) and a fall in mean dominant frequency in EEG activity. The extent of increase in reaction time depended on the rate of increase in plasma ethanol concentration and correlated with the concentration of ethanol while the plasma concentration of ethanol was falling. Differences in the effects of ethanol between study periods were minimal.