North Shore Distillery Makes Hand Sanitizer To Fight Coronavirus

GREEN OAKS, IL — After becoming the first distillery in the United States to receive approval from federal regulators to produce hand sanitizer to fight the spread of the new coronavirus, North Shore Distillery in Green Oaks has produced hundreds of gallons of hand sanitizer.

Much of the alcohol-based liquid hand sanitizer has been distributed to local emergency personnel and health care professionals, but some is also available for purchase by local businesses and individuals, according to representatives of the craft distillery at 13990 Rockland Road.

"The size of the need for hand sanitizer is massive," Co-owner Sonja Kassebaum told Patch. "And it's just terrifying to get calls from a hospital — a surgeon from a hospital calling me because they don't have sanitizer."

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Kassebaum founded North Shore Distillery with her husband more than 15 years ago, becoming the first craft distillery in Illinois while operating under 1930s era regulations. The state loosened the restrictions about a decade ago, and the number of craft distilleries in the state has been rising ever since.

But as the coronavirus crisis intensified last month, distilleries were forbidden to make hand sanitizer without going through a series of additional approval processes, until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued new guidance, Kassebaum said.

The temporary FDA policy allows producers of alcohol-based hand sanitizer to register as manufacturers of over-the-counter drugs for the duration of the public health emergency, now entering its third month. According to local public health officials, distilleries are the only active producers of hand sanitizer in Lake County.

North Shore Distillery is producing hand sanitizer according to a World Health Organization recipe calling for 95 percent ethanol, which must be denatured to make it unsuitable for human consumption, along with glycerin, hydrogen peroxide and purified water, according to Kassebaum. After it became the first distillery in the country to receive FDA approval under the new guidance, she produced a guide to help other craft distillers navigate the agency's process.

The non-alcoholic portions of the production process have presented the biggest bottlenecks so far, according to Kassebaum. The distillery has been limited only by supplies of the recipe's inactive ingredients and packaging — its sanitizer is offered in 2-ounce spray bottles, 8-ounce refillable bottles or 1-gallon containers for institutional users.

"If I have all the ingredients, I could crank it out, but if I'm missing one thing I can't," she said.

With limited availability of hand sanitizer for those most at risk of exposure to the coronavirus, the distillery has prioritized first responders, health care workers and those caring for seniors. Essential businesses that require contact with the public can purchase larger amounts.

At least five local police and fire departments dropped by the distillery to pick up hand sanitizer on Tuesday alone, Kassebaum said.

"I'm trying to spread this like icing, not like cream cheese. I'm trying to cover this need until the mass of supply can catch up to us to keep everyone going, because I don't have enough to give someone five gallons if they don't really need five gallons," she said. "Now, if they have 300 people they're covering, they need five gallons."

Individuals may purchase North Shore Distillery's hand sanitizer through its website. Curbside pickup is available, but delivery is forbidden. The distillery's spirits and cocktail kits are also available for online purchase and pickup.

For those who need to request larger amounts of hand sanitizer, the Illinois Craft Distillers Association is accepting requests for hand sanitizer in bulk for health care providers, first responders and essential businesses.

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Good news - although our cocktail bar is closed, our distillery store is still open for business! Stop by from 12-7 Weds through Sat, and 2-7 on Sunday. We're offering curbside service to your trunk, special bottle & gift certificate offers, quarantine cocktail kits with everything you need to make some of your favorite NSD cocktails, and 10% off everything in our store! Head to the link in our profile find all the details on how we're responding to this unusual situation & keeping your spirits up! #drinkbetter #drinklocal
A post shared by North Shore Distillery (@nsdistillery) on Mar 19, 2020 at 11:25am PDT