What is Alcohol?

Historically, alcohol has been used in association with social activities, including both religious and non-religious rituals, as a dietary component, and as a medicinal agent. Alcohol consumption by various cultures predates written history. Although it was once used for therapeutic purposes, it is no longer recommended as a therapeutic because of its ability to produce intoxication. The ability of ingested alcohol to get from the gut into the bloodstream and up to the brain where it produces the intoxicating effects is due to its chemical structure and solubility in water.

Chemical structure of alcohol

Alcohols are organic molecules assembled from carbon (C), oxygen (O), and hydrogen (H) atoms. When 2 carbons are present, the alcohol is called ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol). Ethanol is the form of alcohol contained in beverages including beer, wine, and liquor.

Learn more about the formation of alcohol in beverages.

The chemical composition of ethanol can be represented either as a 1) molecular formula or as a 2) structural formula. The molecular formula of ethanol is C2H6O, indicating that ethanol contains two carbons and an oxygen. However, the structural formula of ethanol, C2H5OH, provides a little more detail, and indicates that there is an hydroxyl group (-OH) at the end of the 2-carbon chain (Figure 1.1). The -OH group is characteristic of all alcohols.