When Ron Raimonde decided to try his hand at making whiskey, little did he know that he’d soon be making something that would help prevent the spread of a deadly virus.

Raimonde, co-owner of Redwall Distillery in West Sedona, has put the whiskey-making on hold in order to make hand sani­tizer for first responders. And even better, he’s doing it for free.

More than two weeks ago Raimonde received an email from the Tax & Trade Bureau — which oversees distilleries — informing him that the agency will be allowing distillery owners to produce sanitizer. 

“We’re not normally allowed to produce hand sanitizer or for that matter anything that is not drink­able,” he said. “That same day I started the process by going online and trying to procure bottles and tops. Even though the TTB cut back on the regulations, what they told us was that we had to use a specific formula.” 

Under normal circum­stances, Raimonde said this request would take quite a while, but because distill­eries were told to use a specific formula, the process was expedited. Despite that, he said there were still hoops to jump through to be in compliance. 

“So far I have been able to produce about 400, 2-ounce bottles and by the end of today I should have another 300 bottles ready,” Raimonde said on April 8. “We have a very low capacity for producing alcohol of that high of content. It has to be 190 proof or 95% alcohol before you are able to mix it with anything else. That’s far different than whiskey, which comes off the still at 65% to 70%.” 

Because of that, he’s able to produce just a couple gallons of sanitizer a day, with each gallon equating to around 80 bottles. 

“We’re trying to get through this like everyone else,” Raimonde said. “We’re not open yet so all of this hasn’t really affected us in that way because right now I’m just producing the whiskey, putting it in barrels and getting some age on it. Right now I’m not producing any whiskey but I’m hoping to in the next couple of weeks. But, we won’t begin bottling the whiskey for at least another four months.” 

Until then Raimonde plans to continue making hand sanitizer and giving it away to first-responders. 

He recently provided 100 bottles each to the Sedona Police Department and Sedona Fire District. He plans to donate 300 bottles to members of the Arizona National Guard who have been assigned to Navajo and Hopi nations in the northern part of the state. 

“We’ll just assess things in terms of who needs it the most and get it to them,” he said. “It never crossed my mind that I’d be producing hand sani­tizer, but I’m happy to do my part. The appreciation I’ve received so far has been overwhelming. It makes me want to help out even more.” 

The recipe for one gallon of basic hand sanitizer calls for four liters of 90% alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, glycerol and water. This results in 70% alcohol — which is above the 60% needed to kill germs. 

“It’s super easy to make, especially compared to whiskey,” Raimonde said. “Once you have the ingre­dients, it’s a breeze.” 

While this may not be how he planned to use his distillery, Raimonde said he’s been up to the challenge. 

“It makes me feel great,” he said. “It’s a way that I can sleep at night, knowing that I am helping others.” 

That’s something that hasn’t been lost on those he is assisting. 

“I am very grateful for their thoughtfulness and appreciate their ability to provide our first responders with a much needed scarce resource for use in protecting ourselves from COVID-19,” SPD Chief Charles Husted said. “This generous donation, along with all of the other incred­ible local folks who have reached out in support of our team through providing food, coffee and hand-made masks, demonstrates the level of authentic compas­sion and selflessness that permeates our community. We are stronger together, and together we will get through this very chal­lenging time.” 

SFD Chief Jon Trautwein agreed. 

“The Sedona Fire District wants to extend a big thank you to Redwall Distillery,” he said. “Like many other distilleries across the United States, they are producing hand sanitizer for local first-responders. We are grateful to have the hand sanitizer for our enhanced protocols that we have applied to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.”