All alcohal of whatever type (isopropyl, methanol, ethanol etc) are poisonous. Ethanol (the type found in beverages) is least poisonous and only mildly effects the nervous system temporarily. All other types of alcohal are deadly in even very small dosage. Relatively high dosages of ethanol are tolerated by most humans and will result in (mostly) enjoyable intoxication temporarily (and strong and un-enjoyable hang-overs next morning). At high dosage ethanol will kill most germs - unfortunately it will also cause dehydration since it is a strong diuretic. Not what you would want in survival situation for your water source. (as if being drunk in a survival situation weren't bad enough) My understanding about the origins of the Gin & Tonic drink was that the quinine was effective in killing the germs responsible for malaria and Gin was added to make the quinine water palatable. (Not sure I would agree that the Gin is a flavor any better than quinine).