Black Cow Vodka was founded by West Dorset dairy farmer Jason Barber and artist Paul Archard who recognised the potential of using whey in vodka production. By combining the ancient Mongolian tradition of making alcohol from fermented milk with the Northern European tradition of making high proof, clear, clean vodka, they were able to develop an innovative and superior tasting vodka, made entirely from cow’s milk.
Their Story
300 years of cheesemaking
Our father made cheese, our grandfather made cheese, our great grandfather made cheese and our great great grandfather, yes, you guessed it… made cheese. We were expected to make cheese. But we didn’t simply chuck this tradition into the bin. In fact, we just looked in the bin and saw how much milk was being wasted. That’s how the first pure milk vodka was born.
Inspired by Genghis Khan
Yes, you read that right. We were inspired by the greatest conqueror in history. There is something wrong about celebrating the despot’s despot. But we found something far more interesting than his blood thirsty conquests. He was the first person who posed the question “Can you make alcohol out of milk?” A great idea nobody thought of ever again… until now.
We make our vodka in West Dorset from the milk of cows that graze on the fields surrounding the Black Cow distillery. Black Cow is the original spirit to champion sustainability: it is whey, a by-product of the cheese-making process, that makes our vodka so gloriously smooth.