besides being a solvent for certain mother materials, are there other uses for ethanol in lure-making?

thanks!

It can provide several benefits to some degree such as lift and act as an antifreeze and preservative

Ethanol vapor density is heavier than air. Where does the lift come from? Not that it matters I guess. I’d rather the odor plume stay low where the critter’s nose is any way.

Have u not used ethanol? The lift is found in the evaporation rate. It's dispersed as vapor.

Lift is used more in terms of dispersing the odor than actually elevating the odor

Yes, I use a lot of it but the intent of using it has never been to achieve lift. (Thought there might be some info there that I could pick your brain about as far as lift was concerned.) Taking advantage of its vapor density to achieve horizontal dispersion at ground level is the objective I was after and it does that very well. We are on the same page here.

Splitting hairs

Vapor density of the material we use is rather important when talking about odor dispersion. A horizontal dispersion keeps the greatest volume of the odor plume in the wheelhouse of the critters nose. A vertical dispersion, or lift, keeps very little of the odor plum in the target area. Most everything we use has a vapor density heavier than air and I don’t think it’s by chance. Of course the atmospheric pressure plays a part as well but it still works in our favor with the heating and cooling of the ground temperature and its effect on the odor plume. Evaporation rate sets the boundaries of the heaviest concentrations of the plume. Anyway, sorry for nerding out but it’s fun to learn all of this, that’s why we do it. Challenging and questioning certain generally accepted truths/myths allows for greater knowledge as we participate in our hobby, and way of life for some.

I'm enjoying the heck out of this discussion and hope it continues!

the reason I originally asked the question is because I was watching one of those "How it's Made" shows on Sunday. they were talking about adding flavorings to different food products like sodas, etc.

they said that sometimes they added ethanol so that certain oil-based flavorings would mix with water-based products. I'd never heard of ethanol having emulsifying properties.

You can learn a lot about alcohol and odors on perfume makers forums

That was a good tip Yes Sir. Picked up a few things from those sights over the years.