Patrick:
This is too surreal. As I write from the outskirts of Kabul, I can’t help but feel powerless as, from afar, I watch America deal with this once-in-a-generation pandemic. COVID-19 has begun to infect Afghanistan; I’m sure U.S. Forces are soon to deal with that fallout. Amazing that a microscopic parasite has so fully united our species…
I’m trying to keep track of it all, and as I’ve researched the manner in which the coronavirus and its fallout has affected our industry, a few articles made me swell with Whiskey Industry pride.
The mass mobilization to produce hand sanitizer in the face of shortages shows that, once again, distillers are stepping up to the plate in times of need… just as they did during the World Wars to supply “war alcohol”.
Our Pennsylvanian brethren at Eight Oaks Distillery were featured in this article for temporary transformation into a hand sanitizer factory; then handing it out for free. Other distillers from our own state (Black Button Distilling out of Rochester) have taken up that mantle in addition to temporarily shutting down tours (as depressing as a statement that is) to keep the virus in-check. And get this: the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau waived the need for distilled spirits permit holders to obtain authorization priors to producing hand sanitizer. THAT is good government in action.
Even though I’m the one in a combat zone, you guys, the whiskey-makers, are the ones truly mobilizing to protect the homeland. Keep fighting the good fight. Understanding how close-knit the craft spirits community is, I see that the physical separation is most distressing. The tours, the festivals, those get-togethers are what binds us. Our time together will come back.
But here’s one thing I also know: Americans are resilient, particularly Albanites, and especially whiskey distillers! So hang in there! And goodbye, for now, from the other side of the world.
—Jesse