The Glasgow Distillery Company has swapped from producing single malt to hand sanitiser to help out the NHS and those most in need amid the coronavirus crisis.
The distillery have added hand sanitiser to their production schedule following urgent appeals from The British Red Cross – who picked up a small amount yesterday - and other service providers such as The NHS, local care homes, homeless charities and surgeries.
So far this week the distillery, which became the first single malt whisky distillery in Glasgow for over 100 years when it opened back in 2014, has produced 1,500 litres of sanitiser.
And they are set to produce at least double this figure in coming weeks, with the sanitiser decanted into 2.5 litre and five litre containers and will be made available to those who are most in need, first and foremost.
The vast majority of “batch one” produced at The Glasgow Distillery has already been allocated and will be dispatched as soon as possible.
Liam Hughes, CEO & Co-founder of Glasgow Distillery says: "Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on individuals, families and businesses already, but there are still so many people at risk, particularly the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.
"Many people are in a state of panic right now. Unfortunately, some of those who are perhaps most in need of hand sanitiser are now without.
“In one day alone, over 20 care homes across Glasgow and the West of Scotland got in touch with me to ask if we were going to be producing hand sanitiser, showing just how serious this problem has become.
"We had already decided to help but the deluge of calls and emails highlighted how desperate people were and all of our staff were keen to be involved too. It has been a real team effort so far.
“Like many of our distilling companions across Scotland and beyond, we are looking to support our local communities in any way we can at the moment.
"We hope that the production of hand sanitiser is one small way we can help the selfless efforts of frontline workers who are doing their best to not only protect themselves, but protect the lives of those most vulnerable just now".
The hand sanitiser has been produced in line with guidance received from the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) and by following a specific set of specific instructions from the World Health Organisation, which helps ensure all hand sanitiser meets production and labelling requirements.
Should anyone wish to enquire about the availability of sanitiser for their place of work, they are urging all correspondence to be directed to the following email address: sanitiser@glasgowdistillery.com.
Please include more information about the services you provide and the quantity required and the distillery will try their best to get back in touch as soon as possible.
