Distillery in Fort Myers filling up bottles with hand sanitizer for public

Empty shelves are a familiar site for many who go to the store searching for hand sanitizer. That’s why a distillery in Fort Myers has stepped up to help.

Owner Thomas List is filling every bottle brought to List Distillery in Fort Myers with hand sanitizer.

“We just use some of our regular alcohol and then we turn it into hand sanitizers,” List said. “And we give it away to the community to people who need it.”

The Austrian man found this new purpose for List Distillery in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic

“Since there’s a big demand on hand sanitizer, and we as a distiller, we have the possibilities to make this happen,” List said. “We just help yesterday a big community with homeless people.”

List said the distillery went to work to help the public get supplied with hand sanitizer three weeks ago.

Now, he opens his doors to give anyone in need of his alcohol-based sanitizer up to 50 milliliters per day.

“People can also come out and do a refill,” List said.

This comes as a major benefit to the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Myers.

“The housing authority, we are just so elated that we were able to connect with the brewery here to be able to get the sanitizer for our residents,” Vivian Watkins said. “About 350 residents.”

In turn, it allows Watkins to help take care of senior citizens who are housebound.

“He said, ‘Bring your bottles, and we’ll take care of you,’” Watkins said. “A lot of these seniors don’t have transportation. They can’t get out, so we want to be able to help them by providing them with these resources.”

List says his distillery will continue to offer free sanitizer until they run out. All you have to do is bring small, empty containers he can fill.

For more information call 239-208-7214. List Distillery, home of Uncle Tom’s Spirits, is located at 3680 Evans Avenue Suite A in Fort Myers.

“When I can help people, and they are safe, at least I can almost believe that I am safe, so that we can control the virus,” List said.