When workers at a UK microdistillery wanted hand sanitizer to combat the COVID-19 coronavirus, they found local stores were completely sold out. Undeterred, they decided to make their own.
In a Friday Facebook post, the owners of Bristol’s Psychopomp Microdistillery detailed how they’ve combined ingreditents that normally go into their small-batch gins — including botanicals and 65-percent ethanol — with aloe vera, to create a hand sanitizer that can, according to The Drinks Business, be made on-demand for as long as needed.
(A reminder to anyone considering a similar DIY project: most commercial spirits aren’t high-proof enough to effectively replace hand sanitizer.)
This isn’t the first time a distillery has taken steps to help fight the growing global coronavirus outbreak. Last month, Taiwan’s Yilan Distillery partnered with the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation to halt production of its red rice wine to focus instead on the manufacture of high-proof rubbing alcohol for national distribution.
Psychopomp is also giving back to the community, albeit on a smaller scale befitting a microdistillery. In addition to supplying its own workers, Psychopomp has made bottles of its gin-based hand sanitizer available to local residents in exchange for a suggested donation.
Residents are also encouraged to bring their own bottles to fill, to avoid “add[ing] to the plastic problem.”
All proceeds from the sanitizer will go to local medical charities.
