Dayton distillery to produce sanitizer
Belle of Dayton joining distilleries across U.S. making sanitizer. Hospitals might get first batch.
First batch may be donated to first responders, Oregon District-based Belle of Dayton’s founders announce.
The Belle of Dayton distillery in the Oregon District is gearing up to produce at least one batch of an antiseptic hand sanitizer “for our community,” the distillery’s founders announced on its Facebook page.
“We’re all in this together!” the LaSelle brothers — Murphy, Mike and Tim — wrote.
The brothers noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that it would not take any type of punitive or regulatory action against manufacturers that prepare hand sanitizer for consumers and healthcare professionals during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a phone interview Monday, Mike LaSelle said all of the ingredients have been ordered for a first batch of sanitizer.
It’s possible the first batch of sanitizer will be donated to first responders and hospitals, LaSelle said.
If there are enough ingredients and packaging available, a second batch may be distributed to the public for donations, the distillery’s co-founder said.
Reports of distilleries across the country using ethanol they produce to make germ-killing hand sanitizer in a time of a pandemic have spread across media outlets nationwide in recent days.
Since opening in 2014, the Belle of Dayton Distillery has won multiple awards and recognition for its pot-distilled, smallbatch spirits, including a coveted Double Gold medal for its Dayton Gin at the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Belle of Dayton opened a 1900s-themed cocktail bar inside the distillery at 122 Van Buren St. in late 2018.