Scotland's ability to manufacture (and consume) alcohol such as Scotch whisky may be world-renowned, but Scottish distilleries are today joining the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Responding to a global shortage of hand sanitiser, which has seen barren supermarket shelves across Scotland and the United Kingdom as demand outstripped supply, some Scottish spirit makers have begun a novel form of alcohol production that, just days ago, would have been seen as laughable.
[...] "This idea was not even 24 hours old," said Andrew Mackenzie, owner of Verdant Spirits, before he decided to switch production from gin to hand sanitiser earlier this week, following requests from local caregivers in Dundee, eastern Scotland.
Don't drink the hand sanitizer, even if it smells delightfully like Glen Alba.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @01:21AM (1 child)
In USA we have huge distilleries making ethanol (from corn) to put into gasoline (petrol), something like 10% is pretty standard here. With driving and fuel usage down, some of that ethanol could easily be piped off to sanitizer.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @02:37AM
Wait a minute, if you just mix E85 with glycerin, it'll be over 70% ethanol.
Somebody, get this recipe viral on twitter. By Monday morning I expect the nation's gas pumps to be empty (because morons will substitute regular after the E85 runs out), and everyone's hands to smell like gas -- both of which will encourage isolation and distancing.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday March 20 2020, @01:22AM (6 children)
Yum, there's nothing more tasty than peat moss mixed with arsenic.
Fuck, when faced with a choice during the apocalypse, I'd choose the Purell or the Listerine over the Scots.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @02:43AM (3 children)
> Yum, there's nothing more tasty than peat moss mixed with arsenic.
That didn't stop me from being kissed by a frog and turned into a righteous prince in the swamp
that dog has no balls
that dog is getting raped
THE DOG IS GETTING RAPED!
(Score: 4, Funny) by Magic Oddball on Friday March 20 2020, @07:51AM (2 children)
Sounds like at least one AC ignored the warnings to not drink the hand sanitizer...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @05:15PM
ACs prefer Sterno.
(Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Friday March 20 2020, @09:07PM
SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
(Score: 3, Funny) by NickM on Friday March 20 2020, @04:05AM
mmmmmmmm, the fine smoked peat moss and arsenic taste of the Islay 🥃
Maybe you would prefer the slight rubbing alcohol and plywood taste of the Canadian Club Classic, it's surprisingly good 🥃
I a master of typographic, grammatical and miscellaneous errors !
(Score: 4, Funny) by driverless on Friday March 20 2020, @05:12AM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @01:24AM (6 children)
A jug of hand sanitizer won't save you. Isolating yourself will.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by barbara hudson on Friday March 20 2020, @01:39AM (1 child)
SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
(Score: 5, Informative) by driverless on Friday March 20 2020, @05:22AM
Soap is also much more effective than hand sanitiser, since the hydrophobic end of the soap molecule destroys the lipid membranes that surround Covid19 (as well as many other things, herpes, HIV, Ebola, Zika, etc). So the most effective thing you can do is to wash with soap, which surrounds the virus with lethal soap molecules, not a bit of hand sanitiser, which may or may not get it, particularly if it's used the way most people I've seen use it, a quick sprinkle over the fingers and maybe palms.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @02:33AM
Isolating with alcohol (kalsarikännit, look it up)
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday March 20 2020, @12:13PM (1 child)
Chinese coronavirus may kill us, isolating ourselves will.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @05:40PM
lolol
knew you were a bit of a nutter
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday March 20 2020, @05:56PM
A jug of hand sanitizer may not save you, but if the alcohol content is high enough, you won't care.
Isolating yourself means you have to have virtual parties to toast each other using hand sanitizer.
What doesn't kill me makes me weaker for next time.
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Friday March 20 2020, @01:42AM (2 children)
They could have kept everything as-is and marketed their whisky as hand sanitizer. I mean after all, strong liquor should kill bacteria on the skin just as well as hand sanitizer.
Imagine that: washing your hand with 30-year-old Glennturret: now that's posh Coronavirus fighting!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @01:45AM
It does seem to be sort-of a jet set disease--the more you travel and mix with people that travel it seems the more likely you catch it. Aren't they the booze snobs too?
(Score: 1) by Attack DAWWG on Friday March 20 2020, @02:21AM
Nope. Hand sanitizer needs to contain at least 60% alcohol to kill viruses. According to this [wikipedia.org] page the ABV of Glenturret Whisky is 37.5%–55.6%.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by legont on Friday March 20 2020, @02:10AM (9 children)
I always used Bacardi 151 for my disinfection needs, but it was discontinued right before the bio attack on our soil. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacardi_151 [wikipedia.org]
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Friday March 20 2020, @02:14AM (4 children)
Good lord! A bottle of rum with a flame arrestor on the neck. Now I've seen everything.
The raw spirit that comes out of my still is roughly 80% alc/vol and there no way I would drink that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @02:24AM
Above 80 is questionable, but anything below that I consumed numerous times. That's including rubber alcohol for early mainframe disk drives cleaning and aircraft braking fluid. Fear not.
(Score: 2) by legont on Friday March 20 2020, @02:30AM (1 child)
It was nice in cocktails, but especially useful when added to a bowl of ice cream for a visiting lady.
All the usual medical/cleaning tasks as well.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @02:47AM
--- added to a bowl of ice cream for a visiting lady
Dude, Mr Weinstein, that sounds rapey AF.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @02:41AM
> The raw spirit that comes out of my still is roughly 80% alc/vol and there no way I would drink that.
Why not I drink my grandpa's semen and I'm only 52 years of age. He sure has a dance in his step after every milking session.
(Score: 2) by Muad'Dave on Friday March 20 2020, @11:23AM (1 child)
151 indeed. Try some of this [sunsetrum.com]: 84.5% ABV.
If you really want to go nuts, there's always everclear and it's ilk [wikipedia.org] at up to 95% ABV.
(Score: 2) by legont on Friday March 20 2020, @05:48PM
Cool! Thank you.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @05:21PM
EverClear and it's also good for removing adhesive residue.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by nitehawk214 on Friday March 20 2020, @08:19PM
151 is discontinued? Fuck, now we will have to use everlcear or something that tastes even worse to breathe fire while camping.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @02:35AM
TempleOS rare commercial + THEY GLOW trailer - terry davis (related)
+ "Programming Love" starring Terry Davis and Druid Focket
= TempleOS rare commercial from 2011
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDHf_VGM-pI [youtube.com]
= Terry Davis: THEY GLOW - Official Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCyFvcQidvI [youtube.com]
= Programming Love - The Seducing Of Druid Focket
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-KYfuzqwcM [youtube.com]
(Score: 3, Informative) by looorg on Friday March 20 2020, @04:28AM (2 children)
Absolut offered to do something similar, https://www.foodandwine.com/news/absolut-vodka-making-hand-sanitizer-coronavirus [foodandwine.com] . Since it's vodka I guess there wont be much of a production alteration.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday March 20 2020, @05:57PM
Won't this be needed as a vehicle fuel?
What doesn't kill me makes me weaker for next time.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @11:16PM
In this mornings newspaper (yes, I still have a paper delivered) there was a story about a local boutique vodka maker that had switched over to making hand sanitizer. His only problem was going to be filling thousands of little dispensing bottles--he doesn't have a packaging line, was going to use his family to do that work.
(Score: 4, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday March 20 2020, @10:29AM (4 children)
You're not the boss of me.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday March 20 2020, @12:15PM (2 children)
Knock yourself out. It will be like drinking alcoholic snot.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Gaaark on Friday March 20 2020, @01:40PM (1 child)
So!...I can get drunk AND turned on at the same time! Yuuummmmy!
:)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday March 21 2020, @03:26AM
That...emotionally scars me.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 20 2020, @05:42PM
Darwin Award in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1