Elemental Distillers Co-owner Ben Leggett is working to turn the byproduct of their gin production into a high grade hand sanitiser.

A Marlborough distiller has changed its production from gin to hand sanitiser virtually overnight as global demand explodes amid coronavirus.

Elemental Distillers at Vines Village in Marlborough will be using the byproduct of their gin production for a hand sanitising spray for medical centres and businesses, and a gel hand sanitiser for the public.

Distiller Ben Leggett said Elemental Distillers, producer of Roots Marlborough Dry gin, had been using this byproduct as a sanitiser within the distillery since they opened.

"Because it's all high grade ethanol it's a perfect sanitiser," said Leggett, who co-owns the distillery with Simon Kelly.

BRYA INGRAM/STUFF The byproduct was known as the "heads and tails" of gin production: the start and end of the distillery process.

"We've been using it as a high grade sanitiser for our surfaces, to clean windows, to clean hands because it's better than any mainline soap we could use."

Leggett said when it became evident the threat of coronavirus was "getting very real very fast", they began to look into commercially producing hand sanitiser, without knowing how quickly the demand would hit New Zealand.

"Last weekend I was in Nelson peddling gin and by closing down Monday it was 100 per cent about hand sanitiser."

He said the byproduct was known as the "heads and tails" of gin production: the start and end of the distillery process. The "heart" in the middle was what went into a bottle of gin.

While it was "hard on hands" because it didn't have any gel or cream agent in it, the 80 per cent ethanol product could be used straightaway. As Marlborough's only gin distillery, Leggett said they had already received calls from desperate medical practices and doctor surgeries in need of a sanitising product.

BRYA INGRAM/STUFF Elemental Distillers were aiming to use the gin byproduct as a hand sanitiser for those most in need first.

"Our aim is to offer what we can of that to local key businesses - we want to keep the wineries going because that's important for the economy - and also to places like doctors surgeries and schools - to keep the most important people safe first up."

They would provide 5 litre volumes of the ethanol spray to the amenities most in need from this week, he said.

Following the release of a WHO-approved hand sanitiser recipe, they would also look to providing hand sanitiser gel for the Marlborough community.

The recipe called for ethanol, glycerine to create the gel texture, and hydrogen peroxide to kill bacteria in the gel. Leggett said they were working to produce this formula for Marlborough customers, but were waiting on more ethanol, glycerine and the vessels to store the product - all in short supply nation-wide.

"By the time Monday had come and gone, not only had the demand completely flipped but there's pretty much a global shortage on anything to do with hand sanitiser," he said.

"That includes the bottles, the packages, the spelts, the pumps, there's just nothing left in the whole country."

BRYA INGRAM/STUFF Elemental Distillers went from gin production to 100 per cent hand sanitiser virtually overnight.

The shortage of ethanol meant they couldn't even make gin if they wanted to, he said.

Dependent on supplies, they were aiming to having a hand sanitiser gel on the market with two weeks, available at strictly one litre per person.

BRYA INGRAM/STUFF Leggett said there were many positive long-term lessons about supporting local businesses and reducing waste.

"We have enough of the WHO certified ingredients to make 280L of sanitiser gel and we're going to be producing that and selling that to residents purely in Marlborough," he said.

"It's a call for people to hold onto their pump bottles, hold onto any form of dispenser that they have . . . so we'll sell it in one litre refills and people can top it up accordingly."

Although the the panic surrounding hand sanitiser was stressful, Leggett said there were many positive long-term lessons about supporting local businesses and reducing waste.

"I'll be surprised if at the end of this there aren't quite a few social trends coming out of this that we can't identify for a few years later," he said.

The gel would be for sale at the Vines Village cafe or online, stocks permitting.

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