We present a study on the vibrational dynamics of the C-O stretch vibration of methanol and ethanol in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) solution. The relaxation of the excited C-O stretch vibration was observed to occur in two steps. In the first step energy is transferred from the v=1 state of the C-O stretch vibration to an intermediate state with a time constant of 3.2 +/-0.2 ps for methanol and 3.2 +/-0.7 ps for ethanol. The intermediate state is most likely formed by the n=3 or 4 state of the C-O-H bending mode, which is also known as the torsional mode. In the second step energy is transferred from this intermediate state to low-energy modes, leading to a full equilibration of the energy. In methanol this thermalization occurs with a time constant of 28 +/-1 ps. In ethanol the second step is faster, with a time constant of 12 +/-2 ps. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.