The liver metabolizes alcohol by using enzymes to change it into water, CO2 and fatty acids. It does not dissolve it in the technical sense. The rate at which a healthy liver can metabolize alcohol is about 6/10ths of an ounce (14 gr or 17 ml) per hour.
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Average livers metabolize alcohol on a rate at or close to two ounces per hour. Healthier or larger livers can metabolize alcohol faster, with unhealthier or smaller livers metabolizing at a slower rate. The heritage of the person(s) metabolizing the alcohol is often thought to increase(or decrease) the rate of metabolism, but this is usually due to the size of the liver through genetics and not actually the ethnicity of the person.
A healthy male liver metabolizes alcohol at the rate of 6/10ths of an ounce of pure alcohol per hour, regardless of the source. (Women a bit slower, as they possess less of the enzyme that starts the process.) That is roughly the equivalent of a shot of 100-proof.