Idaho distillery drops vodka production to make hand sanitizer for hospital
In New York, liquor stores have been deemed essential and will stay open while other businesses are shuttered in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
In Idaho, a distillery owner’s decision to manufacture a product he’d never before dreamed of producing has made his business essential to the community.
Koenig Distillery in Caldwell has halted production of its potato vodka and is instead using the spirits to produce hand sanitizer, which St. Luke’s Health System will distribute to its clinics and hospitals throughout the state.
“This is a time of innovation and doing things differently,” said Scott Milner, St. Luke’s senior director of pharmacy. “There’s not a script for this, and as a system, we’re trying to be nimble and open to anything to improve the health of our community.”
Milner said members of his staff began seeing shortages in inhalers and hand sanitizer as early as March 15. They were researching FDA guidelines for pharmacists to mix hand sanitizer themselves and reaching out to suppliers when one had an idea.
Brandon Dekiewiet, a buyer for St. Luke’s, said he received an email about purchasing the ingredients last week and immediately thought of an article he read about a distillery in Georgia that switched its production to hand sanitizer. He started cold-calling Idaho distilleries, and Koenig was his first call.
“They called and said, ‘We’re in trouble,’ ” said Andrew Koenig, owner of Koenig Distillery. “We said we’d be happy to help.”
Koenig said he got the call on March 17, and after numerous conversations with attorneys, the governor’s office and the Idaho Board of Pharmacy, the distillery produced its first batch of 650 gallons of hand sanitizer and delivered it to St. Luke’s on Saturday.
Milner estimated the first batch will last about three weeks, and a second was in production Tuesday.
“It’s very inspiring to see a community business work with us not only to help our patients but the community at large,” Milner said. “Through the entire process, not only was (Koenig) open-minded but there were a million little things we had to do, and he just jumped right in and got it done.”
The process began with an FDA- and World Health Organization-approved recipe, which St. Luke’s passed on to Koenig. The potato ethanol used to produce vodka is mixed with hydrogen peroxide, glycerin and distilled water, and the mixture is distilled to 190 proof, which is 95 percent alcohol.
St. Luke’s agreed up front to purchase the ethanol Koenig already had in stock, but Milner said the company has had to assume much of the production costs and “they aren’t getting rich off of it.”
The stock of Koenig’s bourbon and whiskey won’t be affected as much because they can’t be used for hand sanitizer since they’re distilled at a lower proof. He admitted that not producing his signature potato vodka will be a disruption to his business, but he said it’s a worthy one.
“We think there’s time afterwards to drink whiskey and vodka,” Koenig said. “Right now, we’re allocating all of our production to hand sanitizer.”
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
