As bottles of hand sanitizers flew off the shelves at stores around the country due to the coronavirus pandemic, many people were forced to go online where they were shocked to see insanely high prices for the usually cheap bottles. When the owner of Eight Oaks Farm Distillery in Pennsylvania heard about the price-gouging, he knew he was in a position to help.
Chad Butters decided to stop making booze and instead started churning out bottles of hand sanitizer. Using a recipe from the World Health Organization as a starting point, Butters began experimenting with high-proof alcohol, aloe, and glycerine to get the consistency right.
Butters said that he will donate some bottles to local charities and will sell others at local farmers' markets for a fair price.
"We are in a national emergency," Butters said. "What's the right thing to do? The right thing to do is support this community by providing something that is in desperate need. We'll flood the valley with hand sanitizer and drive that price right down."
Oaks Farm Distillery isn't the only one to get into the hand sanitizer business. In Atlanta, the owners of Old Fourth Distillery are making hand sanitizer for first responders. When owner Craig Moore first started producing the hand sanitizers, he was overwhelmed with customers but is finally starting to catch up to the high demand.
He told WSB that he hopes to use the money he makes from the hand sanitizer to pay his employees and cover the losses he incurred because bars and restaurants are shut down.
"We're a distillery. Obviously under normal circumstances we're making vodka and gin and bourbon," Moore said. "Even if we can save one life, that's all we gotta know. Right?"
The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States is working with federal officials to ensure that other distilleries across the country can cut through the red tape and start producing hand sanitizer as quickly as possible.
To keep up to date on the latest news about the coronavirus and to understand what you need to stay safe and healthy, check out the Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction podcast from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.