Milam & Greene Distillery Produces Hand Sanitizer During Coronavirus Pandemic

As the Coronavirus spreads, so does disruption and fear. At the same time, kindness, innovation and service are more than keeping up the pace.  

Milam & Greene Distillery, a whiskey maker in Blanco, is using its facilities and resources to make hand sanitizer, one of the products that has become hard to find at stores amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Heads & Hearts Hand Sanitizer is being packaged and distributed in Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston. It will be free to anyone who wants it, according to the Statesman’s Austin360.  

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Alcohol kills germs like bacteria and the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Hand sanitizer must be at least 60 percent alcohol to be effective, a statistic that recently prompted Tito’s Handmade Vodka to tell people not to use their spirits to make their own. 

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Milam & Greene will ensure their Heads & Hearts sanitizer is strong enough to kill the Coronavirus, capturing alcohol released during the distillation process that is not used in making spirits. These vapors are known as the heads, and Milam & Greene normally uses this byproduct to clean and disinfect its facility, reports Austin360. Since these are not normal times, their heads can now help disinfect your hands. 

Meanwhile, whiskey production continues. The tasting rooms at Milam & Greene – run by a team led by entrepreneur Marsha Milam, CEO Heather Greene. Master Distiller Marlene Holmes and Chief Brewer Jordan Osborne – remains open to visitors for now but it’s not business as usual. They are taking major precautions as well as launching curbside bottle pickup for customers who prefer to stay in their car.

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