A drinks maker best known for its gin is turning its hand to making hand sanitiser.

Ramsbury Single Estate distillery has developed its own hand sanitiser and is filling five-litre mini kegs to go out to hospitals, care homes and to Wiltshire Police.

Dhiraj Pujari, master distiller at Ramsbury, said: “It has been unusual shifting from our normal day job of making gin and vodka to making hand sanitiser, however it has been great to give back to the community.

“It’s very rewarding to do our bit and use our skills and help those who need it most and see the whole community pull together in this time of need.”

He says the firm made 2,000 litres on the first run and is now making 500 litres a day to ensure it can meet further demand.

The liquid is made from spirit-based product at the distillery. Three workers have been moved from production of the gin and vodka lines, although the company says it has plenty of that left in stock.

Mats Olsson, head of global sales, said: “We’re not currently selling the anti-bac, we are prioritising getting it into the hands of the most vulnerable.

“We will, however, be looking at ramping up production over the coming weeks and making it available nationwide for consumers to purchase at the lowest cost feasible.”

The distillery is also lending what it hopes will be a helping hand to bars and pubs being hit by the coronavirus shutdowns, by asking people to pre-order their first drink when they re-open.

The firm has also launched Ramsbury & Friends – which is a way for customers to buy drinks vouchers via their website for their local bar or pub through a virtual tip jar.

The company, which supplies many bars and pubs across Wiltshire, will match every pound spent as a tip for the venue.

The vouchers will be counted up for each bar, which can be selected on the dropdown menu on the website, every week, and the distillery will give the money to the bar to help its cashflow.

The address for the tip jar is here: https://ramsbury.com/friends. Customers can also nominate bars by contacting friends@ramsbury.com