Valentine Distilling Co. has raised $12,000 for Michigan hospitality workers impacted by the crisis with its Mayor Pingree Cask Club whiskey fan base through the release of an elite, 12-year-old single barrel of bourbon. The special cask yielded just 62 bottles at 137.6 proof, of which 50 were sold at a price of $350 per bottle.
Valentine Distilling Co. has also donated $28,000 worth of hand sanitizer to various causes, including Gladwin County in Michigan, an area heavily impacted by recent dam failures in Mid-Michigan, making national news, as it led to significant flooding.
“I see this as a testament to the importance of small business in the United States,” said Rifino Valentine, founder. “During this pandemic, the supply chains of multi-national corporations completely broke down, leaving much of the country without desperately needed PPE. This emergency has exposed the dependency that we as a society have on large, for profit corporations. When this supply chain broke down, local and regional companies pivoted on the drop of a dime to support their communities. As more and more small businesses are pressured by large corporations, my hope is that we support our local manufacturers through our purchasing habits.”
In the past 90 days alone, Valentine Distilling Co. has processed more than 40 tons of grain to produce ethanol. It has also supplied other hand sanitizer bottlers throughout the state of Michigan with 12,000 gallons of ethanol to continue their manufacturing process.