Vodka from Milk?

Traditionally the distilled alcoholic beverage known as vodka, as we generally know it, has been made from cereal grains or potatoes. Now farmers have found a way to make vodka using the by-product of cheese-making, whey, which is otherwise dumped at a cost to the dairy producer. 

Whey is collected and fermented, making beer, which is then distilled into vodka. While this technique of using milk in vodka-making seems revolutionary in Canada, it is well known to Mongolians who have been turning yak milk into vodka for thousand of years.

In Canada, a new distillery, Dairy Distillery, in Almonte, Ontario, just west of Ottawa, is leading the way. 

The final product, Vodkow, as they call it, is a pure colourless see-through vodka, sugar- and lactose-free as well as gluten-free. I'm not a vodka aficionado (i.e. I haven't tried it) but apparently, Vodkow has a mouthfeel that is smooth and creamy and it's tasty in a way that gives a nod to the specific yeast that is used. 

Here's a video that explains more.

A few more bits of info:

• Dairy Distillery was one of several Canadian companies that changed over to producing hand sanitizer during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Vodkow is available at the LCBO. 
• More info on the Vodkow website.
• You have to be over the age of 19 to enter the website and to view any of their YouTube videos.
• There are distillers in Dorset, England, Oregon and New York State that are also converting milk waste to vodka.