Chester Co. Distillery Making Sanitizer During Coronavirus Crisis

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — While it's difficult to escape bad news these days, there are countless examples of the community rallying together in a big way.

Among those businesses working for the public good is Revivalist Gin, an Elverson-based distillery that is pivoting to the production of hand sanitizer during the coronavirus outbreak.

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Owners and brothers Scott and Don Avellino are hoping to address the worrying shortage faced by doctors, nurses, first responders, and paramedics on the front line of fighting the virus.

"The federal and local government agencies that regulate us really stepped up and made it easy for us to do this," said Scott Avellino. "We are trying to help as many people as possible. We are taking care of the heroes on the frontlines and in hospitals first, but we hope to be able to produce enough sanitizer to help as many others as possible in the coming weeks."

The distillery is now using the entire first floor — 5,000 square feet — of their distilling plant to produce sanitizer. That's half of their production space, as their second floor is also 5,000 square feet.

They join another southeastern Pennsylvania distillery, Boardroom in Lansdale, in redirecting efforts to combat the virus.

They're even working on a "botanical" hand sanitizer which they hope will have an aroma similar to their renowned gin.

The state is not taxing spirits producers for this type of production during the crisis, so long as they follow the sanitizer recipe provided by the World Health Organization.

Revivalist Spirits is located on 350 Warwick Road in Elverson.