J.J. Pfister, a local distillery with strong ties to UC Davis, has made a generous donation of hand sanitizer to the campus.

The Sacramento-based distillery, which has been producing organically-grown spirits since 2017, recently delivered to campus 144 gallon-sized containers of sanitizer as well as about 1,400 8-ounce containers. The sanitizer has been approved for use by Environmental Health and Safety. The 8-ounce bottles will be distributed through the Centrally Funded PPE program. The gallon containers will be used by Custodial Services to refill hand sanitizer stands throughout campus.

Early on in the pandemic, hand sanitizer was difficult to procure. Distilleries were in a unique position to be able to quickly convert their operations to produce hand sanitizer.

“We ramped up to make a bunch of it in April, when the pandemic first began,” said Chris Johnson, a J.J. Pfister distiller and UC Davis Viticulture and Enology graduate. “We made a ton and then production caught up and now we are looking to donate it.”

The company has donated the sanitizer to a variety of local non-profit organizations such as the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services, Loaves and Fishes and Volunteers of America. With so many ties to UC Davis – Master Distiller Brian Keck, whose family founded J.J. Pfister, is also a graduate – it was natural to reach out to offer the donation, Johnson said.

Keck and Johnson will be featured in the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science’s upcoming Sips and Bites event discussing J.J. Pfister’s Eau de Vie Pear Brandy. The Zoom event is Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 6 to 7 p.m.