A highly versatile ethanol conversion process to selectively generate high value compounds is presented here. By changing the reaction temperature, ethanol can be selectively converted to >C-2 alcohols/oxygenates or phenolic compounds over hydrotalcite derived bi-functional MgO-Al2O3 catalyst via complex cascade mechanism. Reaction temperature plays a role in whether aldol condensation or the acetone formation is the path taken in changing the product composition. This article contains the catalytic activity comparison between the mono-functional and physical mixture counterpart to the hydrotalcite derived mixed oxides and the detailed discussion on the reaction mechanisms. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.