SOUTHERN COMFORTS Twelve 33 Distillery of Little River, South Carolina WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY CARRIE DOW
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hen COVID-19 caused US industries to shut down and hand sanitizer to disappear from store shelves last spring, Twelve 33 Head Distiller Kevin Osborn had 1,600 gallons of bourbon mash ready to run. “There’s only two manufacturers that can make hand sanitizer — pharmaceutical companies and distilleries,” he said while taking a break from preparing to distill his current batch of bourbon mash. “The pharmaceutical companies obviously got gutted when the pandemic happened. They couldn’t make it fast enough. To support the local community, we’d all have to chip in.” That’s when Osborn made the difficult decision to turn all 1,600 gallons of his heirloom grain bourbon mash in 160-proof hand sanitizer. “We made hand sanitizer for about three months,” he said. “In the first three weeks we donated about $50,000 worth to our community. We gave it away to first responders and health workers. Because bottles were backordered, we put out on social media that we would give away hand sanitizer to anyone who brought in their own bottle. The next morning, they were lined up on the sidewalk. When [sanitizer] came back on the shelf, we were more than happy to switch back.” Switching back to spirits production for Osborn means crafting more than 11 different products. That may seem like a lot for
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