Effects of beverage preference, beverage type and subject gender on ad libitum consumption of alcoholic beverages in the laboratory were evaluated. Undergraduate social drinkers (18 male, 18 female), with equal numbers of each gender stating a preference for beer, wine or mixed drinks, were selected. Subjects participated in three separate 30-minute ad lib drinking sessions and were presented with one of the three types of alcoholic beverage at each session. Data on total volume of beverage and of absolute ethanol consumed as well as blood alcohol concentration (BAC) attained were collected in each session. Subjects preferring wine or mixed drinks drank more alcohol and reached higher BACs when imbibing their beverage of choice than when drinking non-preferred beverages. Subjects preferring beer, however, showed no differences on these drinking measures as a function of beverage type. Men's reports of routine alcohol use had a high positive correlation with actual alcohol consumption observed in the laboratory, whereas for female subjects the correlation was near zero. Implications for interpretation of past ad lib drinking studies and the planning of future ones are discussed.