ASCENSION- A distillery in Ascension Parish recognized the demand for sanitizer and the materials around them that could be used to make the product.

Now they are producing it and giving it away to customers and nonprofit organizations for free. 

Sugarfield Spirits, which normally produces adult beverages, has switched gears to make another alcohol-based product that consumers like Ed McCloud can't wait to get their hands on.

"We've been looking for hand sanitizer all over the city of course and nobody has it," says McCloud.

Thursday, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau lifted its federal restrictions, allowing distilleries like Sugarfield Spirits to turn their alcohol into hand sanitizer. 

"Everybody is really scared right now. There's a lot going on. Anything a business can do, we're going to do," Owner Andrew Soltau says.

Since the outbreak of coronavirus spread in Louisiana, Soltau saw an opportunity to fill a void. 

Soltau has already made several gallons of hand sanitizer to hand out to those in need. 

"We donated everything that we had to a local daycare that was in need.
They were completely out so we gave them all that we had," says Soltau.

Sugarfield Spirits is still in the liquor business, but they say they will be doing their part to help in this time of need. 

They hope to hand out a new batch of hand sanitizer to the general public and nonprofit groups as early as Friday.