Distillery at the Lake of the Ozarks shifts from spirits to sanitizer

For Dave Huffman, the owner of Ozark Distillery in Osage Beach, a change in production seemed like a natural shift.

"The main ingredient of hand sanitizer is alcohol, and we have an abundance here," Huffman said.

The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau lifted some restrictions on distilleries last week, so Huffman, his wife and staff got to work.

"Requirements dictate that it should be 190 proof alcohol, which is alcohol distilled at 95-percent, which we're capable of doing here with out equipment," Huffman said.

To do that, the alcohol is denatured. That process makes the alcohol normally put in spirits, undrinkable.

"Then we also have to add hydrogen peroxide and then we add glycerin to soften it up and make sure the alcohol doesn't evaporate quite as quickly on your hands," Huffman said.

The most time consuming part of the process is bottling the hand sanitizer.

They have several different size bottles, including gallon bottles that are given to places like doctors offices and day cares.

On Friday, the Ozark Distillery invited people to pick up a bottle outside to help stay safe. It's free, but some people still donated.

"To sit here and do nothing doesn't seem like the right thing to do," Huffman said. "So, we're going to continue to do the sanitizer and make the product, and we've got the ingredients to make more with, so we're just going to continue to do that as long as we can."

Ozark Distillery has a limited quantity of the hand sanitizer that they're making, but they want to make sure those who need it most, like first responders or those working in the health care field are able to get it.

If you'd like to contact the distillery, you can message their Facebook page, or give them a call at (573) 348-2449.