Serbian brandy turned into disinfectant

Close to 10,000 bottles of Serbian brandy are being turned into disinfectant for a hospital in the city of Krusevac.

The spirit, which is made from pears and known locally as Viljamovka, will be redistilled into 70% ABV alcohol to provide disinfectant after the bottles have been sat collecting dust in a state depot since 2005.

The brandy was withheld 15 years ago after it failed to meet quality standards, but will now be put to use in Serbia’s fight against Covid-19, according to the local Red Cross.

Emina Todorovic, the organisation’s local secretary, told AFP that the extra supply will be crucial as Serbia expects to experience a second wave of coronavirus later this year.

“We have another wave of the coronavirus looming, so extra disinfectant will be of benefit,” she told the agency.

It comes after countries such as France have also pledged to help drinks producers redistill wine or spirits that they were unable to sell during lockdown into products such as hydroalcoholic gel, as demand for personal hygiene equipment soared at the start of the year.

Hundreds of companies including Brewdog, AB InBev, and Bacardi turned their facilities over to the production of hand sanitiser as Covid-19 started to spread around the world between January and March.

At the time of writing, Serbia has had 31,482 confirmed cases of Covid-19, and 715 deaths. The country appeared to hit its peak in late July.