9th March, 2020 by Nicola Carruthers

As demand for hand sanitisers soars due to the coronavirus outbreak, a UK-based distiller is offering consumers its own disinfectant made with ethanol, gin botanicals and aloe vera gel in exchange for a charitable donation.

The total number of coronavirus (Covid-19) cases in the UK now sits at 280, a rise of 74 since Saturday (7 March). Three people have died from the disease in the UK.

Fears over coronavirus have led to a national shortage of hand sanitisers with chemists and supermarkets across the UK moving to limit the purchase of the disinfectant. In February alone, hand sanitiser sales were estimated to be up 255%, according to data analyst Kantar.

As a result, Bristol-based Circumstance Distillery and its sister site Psychopomp microdistillery have created hand sanitisers for its team after they were sold out everywhere, according to co-founder Liam Hirt.

The hand sanitiser is made with 65% ethanol, and predominantly juniper, as well as coriander seed, angelica root, cassia bark, fresh grapefruit zest and fennel seed.

The producer is now offering the sanitiser to the public in exchange for a donation, 100% of which will go to charity. Proceeds will go to Bristol Children’s Hospital Charity’s The Grand Appeal.

Danny Walker, co-founder of Psychopomp and Circumstance Distillery, said: “If you need some let us know and we can add it to your order or if you’re local pop into the distillery. We have a few glass bottles, but we would encourage people to bring their own spray/pump bottles if you can as we don’t want to add to the plastic problem.”

It comes after Texas-based Tito’s Handmade Vodka responded to a tweet that suggested the use of its product to create homemade hand sanitisers.

Guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that if soap and water are not available to wash hands, then consumers can use a hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol.

In response to a number of users on Twitter last week, Tito’s tweeted it “does not meet the current recommendation of the CDC” as it is only 40% ABV.

Tito’s Handmade Vodka became the best-selling spirit in the US in 2019, knocking Smirnoff off the top spot for the first time in more than a decade.

In the March 2020 issue of The Spirits Business, we took an in-depth look at the impact Covid-19 could have on the spirits industry’s long-term prosperity.