Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, tasteless, colorless, mildly toxic chemical compound with a distinctive odor, one of the alcohols that is most often found in alcoholic beverages. In common usage, it is often referred to simply as alcohol. ethanol is first oxidized to acetaldehyde (which could be the cause of the burning sensation), and then to acetic acid (the burn)