Distillery Makes Hand Sanitizer Instead Of Liquor: Coronavirus

ROCKVILLE, MD — A distillery in Rockville is turning its high-proof alcohol into hand sanitizer amid shortages stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

Twin Valley Distillers — the only business of its type in Montgomery County — is now selling four-ounce bottles for $4 each and eight-ounce bottle for $6.50 each. The bottles contain 80 percent alcohol, aloe vera, lemongrass oil, Vitamin E, and tea tree oils.

"We switched our production literally overnight," Edgardo Zuniga, the owner and founder of Twin Valley Distillers, told Patch. "We started seeing the situation coming from China, then to Europe. It was moving fast and we thought, 'We have to do something.'"

Zuniga and his team are now using their alcohol-making skills to combat the novel coronavirus, which — as of Friday afternoon — has infected more than 250,000 people and killed more than 10,000 others worldwide. In Montgomery County, there are 51 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Making the alcohol needed for the hand sanitizers takes anywhere from three to five days, Zuniga said.

Every day, Twin Valley Distillers gets 1,250 gallons of sugar fermentation and dilutes it to become alcohol for the hand sanitizer. The whole process, from barrel to bottle, takes about a week.

"It's not like a gel, or gooey stuff that sometimes you find in the supermarket or pharmacy," Zuniga said. "It's more like liquid, so you can use it as a spray."

The demand for hand sanitizer is high during the coronavirus crisis. Finding a bottle at a supermarket, pharmacy, or convenience store is virtually impossible. Consumers ordering hand sanitizer online can expect to wait weeks, even months, to get their hands on one.

On Friday, Zuniga said he put out 900 bottles of hand sanitizers. They were sold out in 45 minutes.

To keep up with production, Zuniga says he is working nearly 24 hours every day of the week.

"I go home to check on the kids or rest, and I come back to work. I spend more time in the warehouse than at home," he said.

If Zuniga continues to sell 900 bottles a day, he could easily make a few thousands dollars. But he says that's not enough to cover the bills, pay his employees, and keep the distillery open long-term.

Zuniga's neighbors have encouraged him to sell the hand sanitizers for more money. In fact, some retailers across the country are charging $20 for hand sanitizers, knowing that people will buy them without a second thought.

But Zuniga says he refuses to jack up his prices.

"I'm not making hand sanitizers to stay in business. I'm making hand sanitizers to help," he said.