Distilleries have something the rest of us don’t at this high-time for hand sanitizer: ample supplies of high-proof alcohol.
Chambers Bay Distilling in University Place has jumped in to save the day, as if its bourbon and vodka weren’t enough.
The Chambers Bay Distillery is tucked into a business park in University Place. SUE KIDD NEWS TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO
Co-owner Alan Davis said he was inspired by recipes circulating online for do-it-yourself sanitizer amid a nationwide shortage and price gouging. Stores also have run dry of other cleaning ingredients, from rubbing alcohol to hydrogen peroxide, bleach to vinegar.
He mentioned recipes calling for Tito’s Vodka, but at only 40 percent alcohol by volume, any vodka off the shelf fails to satisfy the 60 percent threshold recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
We use the World Health Organization formulation for making hand sanitizer,” Davis told The News Tribune in a phone call Friday night. One WHO recipe calls for isopropyl and the other ethanol, which the distillery has on hand in the form of neutral grain spirits, or NGS.
NGS is the high-proof, clear alcohol that comes off the still. In the case of making vodka, that means 95% alcohol.
“As a distillery, we’ve got a lot of sanitizer on hand,” joked Davis.
Starting with that high-proof spirit, he and co-owner Jeff Robinette add a bit of hydrogen peroxide and glycerol mainly for texture, per WHO guidelines — plus a hint of lemon essential oil. They will hand out 50-milliliter bottles — yes, for free — at the distillery tasting room and at the last winter Proctor Farmers Market on Saturday.
While supplies last, anyway.
Distilleries across the country also have stepped in with homemade hand sanitizer, including Old Fourth Distillery in Atlanta, Shine Distillery in Portland, Oregon, and Durham Distillery in North Carolina.
In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the state would make its own through Corcraft, a company that employs inmates to make a variety of products. Called NYS Clean, it will be distributed to government and state institutions, including schools.
Chambers Bay sponsors Rob Rang’s Friday show on KJR-950 A.M. in Seattle and asked him to mention it on air. So far, one person dropped by the distillery for a bottle. Davis just posted it to Instagram Friday afternoon.
“People are appreciative,” he said, but when asked if people were swarming the distillery: “No hoard at our door — not yet at least.”
CHAMBERS BAY DISTILLERY
2013 70th Ave. W., University Place, 253-292-5962, chambersbaydistillery.com
Tasting Room: Wednesday to Friday, 4-7 p.m. (tours on the hour from 4-6 p.m.); Saturday 2-7 p.m. (tours on the hour from 3-6 p.m., reservation only)
PROCTOR FARMERS MARKET
North 27th Street and North Proctor Street, Tacoma, proctorfarmersmarket.com
Details: Saturday, March 14, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
SOURCE: https://www.thenewstribune.com/entertainment/restaurants/tnt-diner/article241191476.html