Answer:
Once alcohol is swallowed, it is not digested like food. First, a small amount is absorbed directly by the tongue and mucosal lining of the mouth. Once in the stomach, alcohol is absorbed directly into your bloodstream through the tissue lining of the stomach and small intestine.
Food in the stomach can inhibit the absorption of alcohol in two ways:
First, it physically obstructs the alcohol from coming in contact with the stomach lining. Food can either absorb alcohol or simply “take up space” so the alcohol does not enter the bloodstream through contact with the wall of the stomach.
Second, food in the stomach will prevent alcohol from passing into the duodenum, which is the upper portion of the small intestine. The surface area of the small intestine is very large (about the size of a tennis court), so alcohol has more access to enter the bloodstream once it leaves the stomach. If alcohol is sequestered in the stomach it will be absorbed slower.