Dayton distillery takes a pause for the pandemic cause
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XO Alambic ceased production of whisky and brandy to distill antiseptic ethanol-based sanitizer, which is in short supply in the United States. The trickle is filtered through activated charcoal to further ensure purity and remove any fruit odors.
DAYTON–XO Alambic, Dayton's craft distillery, is suspending production of whisky and brandy to produce ethanol-based, anti-viral hand sanitizer, CovidEx AV™. The first batch of sanitizing ethanol alcohol was produced this week here at XO Alambic's Blue Mountain Station facility.
"The first 100 liters are earmarked for Columbia County's use at the hospital or by any first responders," said Rusty Figgins, owner and distiller. It will be delivered to Dayton General Hospital for distribution to end users.
"The right thing to do is to take this project on," Figgins added.
The initial request was from Emergency Management Director Ashley Strickland, Figgins said, who asked if Figgins would consider distilling sanitizer for local use.
"After making a few phone calls, the response was immediate," Figgins said of the positive response. Dave Harvey of Red Band Cellars in Dayton, makers of the eponymous Dave Harvey wines, and his client, Kristie Lodmell of Lodmell Cellars, managed to accumulate a total pledge of 3,240 gallons of Washington wine suitable for distilling into the ethyl alcohol portion of the hand sanitizer. "The first batch gets distilled today (March 31) from Lodmell Cellars Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon," said Figgins.
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XO Alambic master distiller Rusty Figgins has converted the Dayton craft distillery to meet a shortage of disinfectants.
A large portion of the wine donation was procured from Pacific Rim in West Richland, which immediately responded to Harvey's request, Figgins said. "From this wine I will distill fruit ethanol to a high level of purity, and then compound it with vegetable glycerol and hydrogen peroxide. After mixing and resting for 72 hours, each batch is complete," he said.
Strickland's call was prompted due to a nationwide shortage of sanitizer. "We were quite happy to take a pause for the cause during these unprecedented times," Figgins said. "I told Mr. Strickland that I am at his service and we quickly mobilized, procuring the raw inputs."
For the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, Figgins said he will keep a 100-liter container on reserve.
CovidEx AV is a tradename of XO Alambic craft distillery.
