Dairy Distillery will switch from vodka production next week to make a tonic for our troubled times.
The Almonte craft booze-maker is going to swap its signature Vodkow for a virus-killing sanitizer in an effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic that has brought normal life to a standstill.
Founder Omid McDonald said Thursday the company is planning to turn out two products: a surface sanitizer that will be packaged in the company’s trademark milk-style bottles and a large format hand sanitizer that will ship in plastic bottles equipped with pumps.
“The motive behind this was how we can help the community.”
So far, the plan is to give away the first batch of about 4,000 litres. For now, it’s to be directed toward institutional users like health clinics or the hospital in Almonte, or veterinary operations.
He’s also in discussions with charitable groups like the Shepherds of Good Hope in Ottawa to send along the two styles of sanitizers — one that can be applied directly on the hands and a second that can be decanted into spray bottles and used to clean hard surfaces.
Once you have a supply of nearly-pure alcohol, sanitizer is not difficult to make, McDonald explained, pointing out the World Health Organization has even provided a recipe.
The basic hand sanitizer is made by taking 98 per cent alcohol and cutting it with glycerol (a soap ingredient) and bittering agents to bring the solution to the 65 per cent level. The surface cleaner is made by taking the high-test alcohol, rendering it undrinkable, and diluting it with water.
Should the shortage of hand sanitizers persist, there is a chance the company could actually sell products, but for now Dairy Distillery just wants to help fill the gap in the supply chain.
“I don’t want to just sit idle,” said McDonald. “You could crawl into a ball and hope it all goes away but this is a way to keep people active and make them feel like they’re contributing.”
He hopes the hand sanitizer will be ready by the end of next week.
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