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Detroit City Distillery to begin making hand sanitizer amid COVID-19 pandemic

Posted at 2:27 PM, Mar 20, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-20 15:32:25-04

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Eastern Market-based Detroit City Distillery announced Friday they would begin making hand sanitizer amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The distillery which makes small batch whiskey, gin and vodka, is adapting its manufacturing to produce hand sanitizer in bulk for both healthcare institutions and municipalities with the greatest need.

“Healthcare services and municipalities, in particular, serve the highest number of people and are facing a critical deficit of this essential resource, which we can provide in bulk but in a limited way, due the fact that we are a small-batch distiller to begin with,” says Michael Forsyth, co-owner of Detroit City Distillery. “We have the know-how, and supplying what we can directly makes the most sense at this time. As supplies and our capacity increases, we certainly hope to make sanitizer available to the general public. However, right now, we need to do what we can to get it to our big institutions who can get it to the most people.”

The products will comply with new Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau regulations that allow distillers to make sanitizer.

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