Ko’olau distillery shelving its spirits to make hand sanitizer instead

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - On the east side of Oahu the Ko‘olau distillery specializes in spirits, an for the past few days, workers have been working on a recipe to keep peoples up.

The distillery well known for being the makers of Old Pali Road Whiskey, has made the decision to shift production to begin supplying hand sanitizer for critical services.

CEO Eric Dill made the decision earlier in the week, and the retired military service member, didn’t think twice about it.

“We realize there was a need," said Dill. “We realize that we have the capacity and the capability to fill that need to a certain degree.”

The distillery has the capability to legally distill alcohol and will shift production towards producing the base for hand sanitizer that will be provided free of charge to first-responders, health workers, and essential civil service personnel.

Dill and business partner Ian Brooks are U.S. Marine Corps veterans, both with over two decades in the service.

Despite their own personal business taking a financial decline amid the coronavirus outbreak, Brooks believes it’s in their chemical makeup as soldiers, to help when necessary.

“With our service we have done in the marine corps it is in our DNA," said Brooks. "We help whenever we can.”

The Ko’olau distillery uses local ingredients to produce 11 gallons of hand sanitizer in five days.

FEMA has reached out to Ko’olau distillery and the local company plans on continuing to produce the much needed sanitizer.

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