IN FOCUS // Hand sanitiser
From booze to sanitiser Australian distillers are shifting their production focus from spirits to hand sanitiser. WORDS Annabelle Cloros HAND SANITISER, LIKE toilet paper, pasta
batch for the broader Prohibition Family?”
federal licences, dangerous goods approvals,
and many other household essentials, has
Prohibition produced 200 100ml bottles
access to raw materials and expertise –
been difficult to access over the past few
of juniper-scented hand sanitiser that were
so we’re now making hand sanitiser our
months due to near-constant demand.
given away with 500/700ml sales of gin.
production focus,” says founder Will Edwards.
Manly Spirits Co and Archie Rose in Sydney
For Manly Spirits Co, producing hand
“We will continue to produce sanitiser for
and Adelaide’s Prohibition Liquor Co are just
sanitiser came about after local community
as long as we can, or as long as is required
a handful of the distillers who have recently
groups and organisations reached out for
and this will also support the redeployment of
released hand sanitiser products into the
help. “We knew that making hand sanitiser
as many of our full-time bar staff as possible
market, which are now available to purchase.
available for these groups was simply our
to assist in filling, packaging and shipping
part to play in these crazy times,” the brand
the product.”
Prohibition Liquor Co never thought they would be making sanitiser, but quickly changed their tune when they weren’t able to
posted on Instagram. The distillery is churning out 5L containers
The distillery have used a product formulation based on the World Health
purchase the product for their venues to keep
for community groups and also created a
Organisation’s guidelines while utilising
staff and customers safe.
50ml sanitiser with gin aroma that customers
ingredients including grapefruit, cassia,
will receive for free with every purchase.
cardamom and thyme botanical distillates
“Being a distillery and having access to high-strength alcohol, we decided to make
Archie Rose first released 4,500 500ml
a small batch of our own,” reads a message
bottles of hand sanitiser, with the product
on the brand’s Instagram account. “We are
selling out almost immediately. There’s now a
potential revenue stream for distilleries
not in the hand sanitiser business and don’t
rolling wait list for each new batch.
who can no longer operate their bars while
intend to be, but we figured if we are going to make it for ourselves, why not make a small 8 | Hospitality
“We’re in a unique position to manufacture this essential product – with the required
from the brand’s gin production. The production of hand sanitiser is a
allowing them to provide an essential product to the communities they operate within. ■
