Glenfiddich owner William Grant & Sons has switched production at three of its distilleries to create approximately five million litres of ethanol over the next eight weeks for hand sanitiser.

The group will create ethanol for hand sanitiser at its Girvan plant in Scotland, Tullamore in Ireland, and plans are being put in place to meet Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards at Tuthilltown in New York.

While Girvan and Tullamore will produce ethanol that will be distributed to several hand sanitiser producers, Tuthilltown will produce, package and distribute the disinfectant to local health care providers.

William Grant & Sons, which also creates gin brand Hendrick’s, assured the relevant social-distancing measures were being adhered to during production as advised by local governments and the Scotch Whisky Association.

Simon Hunt, chief executive at William Grant & Sons, said: “Through this initiative, we can divert our technology and the skills of our people to contribute to the essential work of protecting people around the world from the impact of coronavirus. Our proud teams are determined to do what they can to help at our distilleries.”

Earlier this month, William Grant & Sons closed all of its visitor centres indefinitely due to the coronavirus outbreak.

William Grant & Sons joins a growing list of distillers who have swapped spirits for hand sanitiser as the industry rallies together to overcome the coronavirus pandemic.

Several spirits producers have made large donations to support charities and organisations working to support those in the hospitality industry that have been impacted by the covid-19 outbreak.

Last week, Svedka vodka owner Constellation Brands pledged more than US$2.5 million to covid-19 relief efforts, while Bushmills Irish whiskey donated US$100,000 to help US bartenders.

Source: The Spirits Business