A colorless liquid with characteristic odor and taste, commonly called grain alcohol or simply alcohol. Ordinary ethanol is about 95% pure, the remaining 5% being water, which can only be removed with difficulty to give pure or absolute ethanol.

Ethanol is the alcohol in beer, wine, or liquor and can be made by the fragmentation of sugar or starch. Denatured alcohol, for industrial use, is ethanol with toxic additives.

Ethanol is used as a solvent in the manufacture of varnishes and perfumes; as a preservative; in medicines; as a disinfectant; and as a fuel; Ethanol is a soporific; if its presence in the blood exceeds about 5% death usually occurs. Behavioral changes, impairment of vision, or unconsciousness occur at lower temperature.