I thought he said something about isopropanol. Isopropanol and ethanol are quite different, with isopropanol being the most polar (as it is the simplest) of the secondary alcohols. You are correct about alcohols exhibiting characteristic of nonpolar solvents, but it is still considered a polar, protic solvent. That's one of the coolest things about alcohols, that they can act as either a polar or nonpolar solvent, or even both at the same time. Ever try to mix oil and water? Throw some alcohol in the mixture and watch it all become miscible.

Not sure if this is useful to anyone, but I always figure the more information, the better "The more you know" (insert cheesy NBC music here)