First of all, our family wants to thank you all for your efforts on social distancing and also for your many kind words of support for our “Flatten the Curve” Hand/Surface Sanitizer initiative. We would also like to thank the other amazing businesses that are supporting our production of this product through their donations of key components and logistics surrounding the production and distribution of this essential product. (Universal Packaging for bottles, Peller Estates for help with the alcohol, Univar Solutions for peroxide, Speedpro Signs Vernon and Wayside Press for the labels). We couldn’t do it alone without their generous support! #localheroes At this time (and over the next few days) we are really overwhelmed trying to keep up with production and distribution of our alcohol-based sanitizer to the hundreds of emergency front-line medical workers, care homes, homeless shelters and other essential service sectors ranging from ambulance to public utilities and social outreach workers.
Our plan is to focus directly on these as phase one, then by Wednesday this week we will be in a position to open this up to other sectors and also directly to the public. We are providing this 100% free of charge to the collective pandemic response effort and are trying our best to help as many as possible, please be patient as we try to focus on those that are most urgently affected and most at risk.
At our public release, Wednesday, this will also be free of charge to our wonderful Okanagan community, but we are going to try to see if we can pay it forward to create an even bigger positive social impact. We will ask that everyone wishing to pick up a personal bottle of our “Flatten the Curve” sanitizer “pay the kindness forward” in any way they can.
We kindly ask the following:
1. Please only take the volume of sanitizer that you require to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
2. Please let anyone you know in the local area who is a front-line medical or essential service worker to reach out to us so that we can help them out first. Our staff are being true heroes and are doing their best to produce more every single day, but if you are able to self isolate and are not imminently at direct risk please allow us to service those that are first.
3. Please call ahead if possible to check on supply as daily volumes fluctuate.
4. Please be understanding that we are trying our best and a little patience might be necessary.
5. If you yourself are sick please do not come in personally but ask someone healthy to pick up some for you. If our family and staff get sick we will not be able to continue producing.
6. When picking up your sanitizer please be mindful that social distancing is a necessary requirement for all of us. Give everyone a little space, and please don’t congregate on mass if you have to wait a bit for the sanitizer. We will do our best to accommodate a safe environment for all at our end, but please help us out from your end too.
Please stay safe and self-distance out there people, and keep following us on FaceBook for updates on our “Flatten the Curve” sanitizer.
Thank you for your understanding and your patience.
Wishing you all the best of health during this stressful time,
The Dyck Family and Staff at Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery
We are not usually in the "Hand/Surface Sanitizer Business" but these are extraordinary times.
The first line of defense against this virus is protection against its spread and for that we need:
1. Social distancing and self isolation where required.
2. Regular hand washing and stop touching your face.
3. Hand and surface sanitizers to kill the virus if and when it gets on surfaces or hands where it can easily be spread.
This is where we come in! The main ingredient in hand and surface sanitizers that kills viruses and germs is alcohol, and since we're distillers, we LOVE to make alcohol. We would much prefer to put this alcohol into barrels and make world-class whiskies and gins, but we've decided, for now, to do battle against COVID-19.
Our hand/surface sanitizer is made per the WHO recommended guidelines and is essentially comprised of our alcohol at 70% (and yes it is denatured so that it is no longer drinkable), and then to this denatured alcohol we add small volumes of hydrogen peroxide. We are not adding thickeners or aloe vera at this time since we are not in the business of making people's hands soft, and we don't want anything to interfere with the alcohol's efficacy. The spray format allows for more versatility of use.
Before you ask: it is safe on the skin, but do not spray it in your eyes or try to drink it. If you want something to drink, we have lots of other great-tasting options for you.
Stay safe out there everyone and look out for one another!
