Boyd and Blair, Quantum team with state for hand sanitizer, experience business growth
Two Western Pennsylvania distilleries have teamed with the state to make hand sanitizer, alongside their drinkable spirits.
Glenshaw’s Pennsylvania Pure Distilleries, home of Boyd & Blair Vodka and BLY Silver Rum, and Quantum Spirits in Carnegie, known for its rye whiskey, vodka and gin, are part of a project coordinated by the Pennsylvania Distillers Guild starting last month.
They’ve joined New Liberty Distillery in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Distilling and Midstate Distillery in Harrisburg to produce 1.3 million four-ounce bottles of hand sanitizer via a contract with the Pennsylvania Department of Health during the pandemic.
They’ve completed the first order for 100,000 bottles, said Barry Young, founder and master distiller at Boyd & Blair, and are working on a second.
Shipped out 16,000 four ounce bottles of hand sanitizer to the PA Dept of Health. Proud to serve our first responders. pic.twitter.com/ruQ1yTghI3
— Boyd & Blair Vodka (@BoydandBlair) April 28, 2020
Dad’s Hat Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey in Bristol, Bucks County, is handling the logistics of the hand sanitizer.
“This has really been a group effort,” said Young. “It’s been quite an experience, but we are proud to be a part of it because it such a key product during this pandemic.”
Young, whose business is located in the former Glenshaw Glass, said the department of health determines where the sanitizer goes.
While other area distilleries are making hand sanitizer independently, Pennsylvania Pure Distilleries and Quantum are the only two locally as part of the contract with the state, said Ryan Kanto, who co-owns Quantum with his wife, Sarah Kanto.
Both businesses have experienced sales growth, especially when state stores were closed.
Quantum added an online shop and halted making spirits for a while to create sanitizer, said Ryan Kanto, who is a chemical engineer. The transition was smooth because distilleries are set up for making sanitizer.
“We are proud to be a part of this, and we wanted to do whatever we could to keep our employees working,” Ryan Kanto said. “We care about helping our health care workers and our employees because they are such an important part of our business.”
At Pennsylvania Pure Distilleries, Young has been able to retain employees and hire more. “Our online business went through the roof when the state stores closed on March 17,” Young said. Now that most of the PLCB stores have reopened, “We have continued to receive orders from people who were introduced to our products during shutdown period and have now become brand loyalists.”
Young, a pharmacist, is familiar with the ingredients — ethanol, hydrogen peroxide and glycerine – mandated by the World Health Organization for the local production of hand sanitizer. The formula is 80% alcohol, so it is not as thick as other hand sanitizers, he said.
The state of Pennsylvania compensates the Pennsylvania Distillers Guild for the cost of the components and each distillery gets paid by how many bottles they fill, Young said.
Ingredients are added by weight, then poured and then packed in cases of 50, with 80 cases per pallet. The most challenging part has been finding plastic bottles, he said.
“We are working hard to continue producing our spirits while adapting to the production of hand sanitizer,” Young said. “It has been a privilege to be able to help those on the front lines.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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