--- title: This legendary Polish liquor will leave germs (and you) woozy - The Hustle description: It’s one of the strongest liquors on shelves -- and people think it will kill practically anything. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2069035184-2020-News-Brief_2020-04-24T003728.930Z.webp --- # This legendary Polish liquor will leave germs (and you) woozy ![Michael Waters](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/michael_waters.jpeg?width=48&height=48&name=michael_waters.jpeg) [Michael Waters](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/michael-waters) [Michael Waters Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/michaelwwaters) Published: April 24, 2020 Updated: October 12, 2023 Move over, Purell: The hottest hand sanitizer on the New York City market is a Polish liquor [called](https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-makes-polish-liquor-fly-off-the-shelves-as-hand-sanitizer-11587147054) Spirytus Rektyfikowany. ![This legendary Polish liquor will leave germs (and you) woozy](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2069035184-2020-News-Brief_2020-04-24T003728.930Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=2069035184-2020-News-Brief_2020-04-24T003728.930Z.webp) At 96% alcohol by volume, the spirit is one of the strongest liquors on store shelves in the world. Some manufacturers package it with a “flammable” warning. One review found by *The Wall Street Journal* called it “death in a bottle with a hellish burning aftertaste.” The signature burn will leave you Rekt, and it may kill just about anything: At the end of February, spirytus [sold out](https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2020022900475/vodka-in-short-supply-in-japan-as-rubbing-alcohol-sells-out.html) in Japan as fears about COVID-19 mounted. Now shops in Greenpoint — a historically Polish neighborhood in Brooklyn — are selling 1.2k bottles every 2 weeks. #### **A Cold War staple gets the blockbuster treatment** Once upon a time, spirytus was big among the subset of drinkers who have ever taken a sip of absinthe and thought, “This could use a little more ethanol.” In Communist-era Poland, people hoarded it to cheaply distill into vodka or to mix with carnation oil in order to ward off mosquitoes. Had a cold? You’d take a little spirytus. Now it’s all up in your hand sanitizers. Across the world, [eye drops](https://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/article242066996.html), [perfume](https://www.dailyitem.com/news/valley-fragrance-business-now-making-hand-sanitizer/article_f28eb256-799c-11ea-baae-eb0546b13c66.html), and vodka manufacturers have pivoted toward making hand sanitizers — and they’re relying on spirits with more than 60% ethanol. #### **But for the DIY crowd, spirytus is an intoxicating at-home brew** Spirytus hand sanitizers are easy to make, according to Elwira Ogórkiewicz, who is offering Facebook tutorials. A good sanitizer is three parts spirytus and one part aloe gel, she said. But Ogórkiewicz told the *Journal* that spirytus has one fragrant flaw. Even after adding in some lavender fragrances, she admitted, “It smells a bit like alcohol.” Topics: [Coronavirus](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/coronavirus) [Food](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/food) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Holy smokes, there may actually be a limit to Texans’ love of barbecue](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1244337807-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Texas-BBQ_20230928210924.webp) ### Holy smokes, there may actually be a limit to Texans’ love of barbecue - ![Think your industry is weird? Get a load of the beaded ice cream business](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/908447747-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-dippindots_20231002233115.webp) ### Think your industry is weird? 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