Many spirits and liquors producers across the Caribbean are mobilising efforts in response to the growing need for sanitising solutions which are critical to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.
Grenada-based Blue Light Distillery also joined the fight against the virus.
The company, run by Jim Jardine that initially manufactures gin, is one of the beneficiaries of the INTERREG Trade Enhancement for the Eastern Caribbean (TEECA) project, which is coordinated by the Chamber of Commerce of Martinique (CCI Martinique) along with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the Territorial Collectivity of Martinique and the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export).
Sanitisers became scarce or impossible to find in supermarkets in Grenada, as soon as the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed on the island on 22 March 2020.
The handmade gin brand Blue Light Distillery decided to embark on the manufacture of antiseptic solutions based on alcohol and aloe vera in response to this unprecedented situation. As of 24 March 2020, the company began to produce 100 bottles of 500 ml per day to supply the supermarkets.
The director of Blue Gin Distillery, Aaron Salyer, explained its decision to revamp the production from hand-crafted gin made with wild Canadian juniper berries to hand sanitisers made with alcohol and aloe vera.
“Blue Light Distillery decided to manufacture hand sanitisers for 2 reasons. First of all, we have access to the high percentage alcohol necessary to make the antiseptic products which are essential in the fight against Covid-19. It also enables us to keep the business afloat during this crisis. Tourism plays a big role in our business. However, bars and hotels are closed, and cruiseships no longer dock in Grenada because of the pandemic,” Salyer said.
The director of Blue Gin Distillery also indicated that donations of sanitisers were made to senior citizens’ facilities and to people who are most affected by poverty on the island. The curfew introduced in Grenada on 30 March and the ban on the sale of alcohol has also impacted the young company founded in 2018.
The involvement in the fight against Covid-19 enabled the only hand-crafted gin manufacturing distillery of the island to survive while praying for the end of the pandemic and the return to normal economic and tourist activities in Grenada.
OECS-Chamber of Commerce of Martinique Joint Media Release
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The ID is because shopping is being done by alphabetical sequence. People with surnames A to N are shopping 8 to 12 and others 1 to 5. Hence the ID is to ensure order
Why do we need to provide ID to shop.
If they tell us to walk down the road with out trousers because our trousers could become Covid infected will all the Dumb Yes sir Mass Niggers do it.
I am a brutal individual and I call a spade a spade without apology.
That is a super idea!!! Let’s hope this gets sorted soon because the gin is amazing!!! Well done for the initiative guys!!
Thanks! We’re hoping everything gets sorted soon too!
Export to England please haha could do with some over here, stay safe god bless