What, in scientific terms, is an alcohol? What’s the difference between, for example, sugar alcohols and the alcohol in whiskey?
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An alcohol is an organic compound made up of Carbon, Hidrogen and Oxygen, where an hydroxyl group (OH) is bound to a carbon of a chain. They’re polar compounds due to the oxygen presence, meaning they dissolve well in water and other compounds of polar nature.
The difference between a sugar alcohol(I suppose you’re just refering to sugar OH groups) and the one in a drink is the complexity of the Carbon chain. Alcohol in drinks is ethanol, but the taste comes from other compounds in the drink. Sugars are complex hydrocarbons with 4 or more carbons and OH groups.
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