Essence of Harris and Isle of Harris Distillery unite

March 25, 2020 | Uncategorized

Public facing workers in the Western Isles are being given a boost in the battle against coronavirus by two island businesses.

They will soon receive alcohol-based hand sanitiser free of charge from Essence of Harris, the award-winning Scottish candle and home fragrance company.

The production team is busy bottling thousands of units of hand sanitiser with alcohol donated from the world-renowned Isle of Harris distillery.

Jamie McGowan, chief executive of Essence of Harris

Jamie McGowan, chief executive of Essence of Harris, said: ‘We want to help our hardworking public facing workers in this battle against coronavirus, so have worked in partnership with the Isle of Harris distillery to create a speciality
batch of Essence of Harris Hand Sanitiser which has been made according to the World Health Organisation formulation.

‘I will personally deliver these bottles with my team to a wide variety of public facing workers in the area and we will also be sending a box down to the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre.

‘At times like these, we must work together to keep our communities as safe and healthy as possible.

The Essence of Harris sanitiser, made with the help of the Isle of Harris Distillery

‘The local community here on the island really supported me when I started my business so it is only right that I support them in a time of need.

‘Public facing workers are providing a lifeline service to our islands, for which I am hugely grateful, and my team are proud to get behind them and do our bit to help them help others.’

Simon Erlanger, managing director of Isle of Harris Distillers, said: ‘The Harris Distillery team is very pleased to support this important local initiative which requires high-strength alcohol as a key ingredient.

Simon Erlanger, managing director of Isle of Harris Distillers

‘It is vital we all keep working together to protect our community at this critical time, and we hope this donation of our spirit will play a small part in keeping our key workers and wider island family safe while we face the challenges which lie ahead.’

Essence of Harris, a candle and home fragrance company drawing inspiration from the elemental aspects of the island, was established in 2015 by couple Jamie and Deenie McGowan. In addition to its original store in Tarbert, it now has three additional retail outlets, a thriving online shop, 25 staff and has started to export Hebridean home fragrance products to the USA.

The Isle of Harris Distillery has a new-make spirit maturing into a single malt whisky, while the inaugural Isle of Harris Gin has already become a huge success.