BOLTON, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Sales are down significantly at Nashoba Valley Spirits due to coronavirus, so the family-run distillery and winery is switching from producing gin and whiskey to crafting one of the high-alcohol-content ingredients in hand sanitizer.
"We're producing ethanol, up to 96 percent alcohol," COO Justin Pelletier told WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe.
The distillery is trying to make the best of a hard situation.
"Eighty-five percent of our business was on-site sales for consumption," Pelletier said. "That whole part of our business has been shut down. It's been a tough time for us right now, but we're trying to find a way to make the best of this situation."
Pelletier said that, if they can get a couple of other businesses to go in with them and get government approval, they'd like to begin mass-producing hand sanitizer.
"Right now, we're looking for help from a lot of other places to try to be able to bring this to mass production," he said. "Ourselves right now, I have about 18 gallons of alcohol ready, we're just waiting on a couple of other products."
Justin's father, Nashoba Valley Spirits CEO Rich Pelletier, said they're working with the government to get the authority to make sanitizer.
"Our first outreach has been with the hospitals and life care facilities," he said. "The healthcare industry is the one that we're trying to help out directly."
WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports
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