  Dielectric loss spectra covering 13 decades in frequency were collected for
2-ethyl-1-hexanol, a monohydroxy alcohol that exhibits a prominent Debye-like
relaxation, typical for several classes of hydrogen-bonded liquids. The thermal
variation of the dielectric absorption amplitude agrees well with that of the
hydrogen-bond equilibrium population, experimentally mapped out using near
infrared (NIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements. Despite this
agreement, temperature-jump NIR spectroscopy reveals that the hydrogen-bond
switching rate does not define the frequency position of the prominent
absorption peak. This contrasts with widespread notions and models based
thereon, but is consistent with a recent approach.
