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The run on toilet paper was weird enough, but now it’s Everclear?

That’s right, the high-potency alcohol has been flying off the shelves of liquor stores in Durango, according to interviews with businesses. But most people aren’t buying it to drink – they’re buying it to mix with aloe vera or other skin-soothing products for DIY hand sanitizer, store managers and employees said.

“It’s all over Facebook,” said Robert Payton, manager at Mac’s Liquor on north Main Avenue. Liquor World near Albertsons had to limit customers to one 750 milliliter bottle as people tried to purchase mass quantities of high-potency liquor, said Benjamin Cockburn, an employee at the business.

Mass purchasing has been a hallmark of the American response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grocery store shelves have been cleared of canned goods and cleaning supplies as people prepare for recommended self-isolation or quarantine.

“We’re kind of reassuring customers that we’re not really gonna run out,” Cockburn said in an interview Thursday with The Durango Herald. “I haven’t seen a lot of people buying bulk of a lot of things because of this (pandemic), other than the Everclear. We sold out of all of it really quickly.”

Cannabis stores in Durango have also seen an increase in sales, according to calls to businesses in the area. While most declined to comment about the effect that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on their businesses, at least four cannabis dispensaries contacted by telephone Thursday said more people have been buying more product.

“A lot of locals are stocking up, and we still have tourism going through,” a budtender at The Green House – Durango, said. “It really comes down to people getting kind of scared.”

People at liquor stores are stocking up, too, Payton said. Mac’s Liquor manager said some customers have bought the store out of its stock of specific products. One customer spent over $100 on Pabst Blue Ribbon Extra, he said.

Supply should not be an issue, but, then again, neither was finding toilet paper a few weeks ago, Payton said.

“There’s toilet paper out there, but it’s not here right this second,” he said. “It’s not like you can say, ‘Send me six more semi loads.’ Everything takes moments, that’s what a lot of people don’t realize.”

Liquor World reduced its hours and now closes at 8 p.m. rather than 11 p.m. Mac’s Liquor has not shortened its hours, but management is considering it, Payton said.

“We’re doing our very best to (monitor) the situation and stay as informed as we possibly can,” he said. “Our job is to serve the public – we’re doing our very best to continue that.”

bhauff@durangoherald.com