Dayton distillery pivots from brandy to sanitizer

DAYTON—On Monday, March 30, XO Alambic, the Dayton distillery announced the immediate start of production of ethanol-based, anti-viral hand sanitizer, CovidEx AV. Friday, March 27 was the distillery’s last day of regular whisky and brandy production and the company has adapted its production schedule to answer the local need. Last week, the Columbia County Emergency Management Director, Ashley Strickland, asked XO Alambic owner and distiller, Rusty Figgins, if he would consider making ethanol-based hand sanitizer for the local hospital and for first responders.

The Emergency Management director stated that a national shortage prompted his call, and Figgins said, “We were quite happy to take a pause for the cause during these unprecedented times. I told Mr. Strickland that I am at his service and we quickly mobilized, procuring the raw inputs.” The first 100-liter batches of CovidEx AV will be delivered to Dayton General Hospital and from there will be distributed also to first responders.