Grant Stevely, owner of Dubh Glas Distillery at Gallagher Lake north of Oliver, holds up a glass of his award-winning Noteworthy Gin in 2016. (File photo)

Dale Boyd

Osoyoos Times

The South Okanagan’s Dubh Glas Distillery is joining others across the valley in shifting focus from spirits to hand sanitizer to assist front-line healthcare workers and local first responders.

A waste alcohol product which is normally disposed of can be used for sanitary products, so Grant Stevely, owner of Dubh Glas Distillery north of Oliver started using that waste product under the guidance of the World Health Organization during the initial stages of the outbreak. Now they are shifting the business to full-time hand sanitizer production.

“Now the need is kind of pushed up to where instead of making good alcohol for whiskey we’re making ethanol for more bulk hand sanitizers,” Stevely said.

“We’ve completely switched our production from whiskey and gin to hand sanitizer.”

While he appreciates accolades for the business doing their part, Stevely said it was really a “no brainer.”

“We’re just pivoting our business. Which certainly a lot of other organizations are doing as well,” Stevely said.

The much-needed sanitizer was distributed locally to the Oliver Fire Department, the Osoyoos Fire Department, paramedics and provincially to health care workers at Vancouver General Hospital and other locations in the Lower Mainland.

“They are more the pre-hospital care providers and the higher risk that are running low. What we are looking at now if we have any left from this run, grocery stores will be next because we have been approached by them as well,” Stevely said.

The six distilleries in the South Okanagan are going to, if they are not currently, shift production to hand santizer, Stevely said, with distilleries from Summerland, Penticton and Naramata joining the effort.

Stevely, a member of the Oliver Fire Department with an emergency services background, did not seemed too phased by the global pandemic.

“We’re just a small part of everybody doing their part.”