Distillery Accidentally Fills Bottles of Gin With Hand Sanitizer

Distilleries stepped up during the coronavirus pandemic by using their facilities to mass produce hand sanitizer. Now that the shortages are over, distilleries around the world are easing back into making alcohol, but one Australian distillery may have missed the memo. The Apollo Bay Distillery in Victoria, accidentally labeled some bottles of hand sanitizer as gin, and sold them to the public. Now, it has issued a product safety recall for nine bottles of its SS Casino Gun sold over the weekend at the Great Ocean Road Brewhouse. So if you bought some gin there this weekend: Do NOT drink it.

The product recall says, “The product is labelled as gin, however it is not gin. The bottles are not correctly sealed, they can be identified as having no shrink wrap seal. The product is NOT to be consumed. Consumption of the product may have side effects including nausea, headaches, dizziness, bloating, vomiting, thirst, and diarrhea.”

The recall also advises customers to return the bottles for a full refund or replacement.

According to Australia’s ABC News, one person allegedly consumed the hand sanitizer by accident, and apart from feeling a bit nauseous, didn’t experience any other serious side effects. Thankfully, six of the nine bottles have been accounted for thus far.