The idea of milk vodka might bring to mind The Dude sipping a White Russian in his robe. But savvy, eco-friendly distillers are upcycling whey, the byproduct of dairy farming, into high-end craft spirits, and the results are impressive.
Whey is the sweet, nutrient-rich liquid that is the dairy industry’s largest byproduct, with approximately 80% to 90% of milk volume expelled as whey during the cheesemaking process. In the United States, that adds up to approximately 100 billion pounds of whey waste a year, according to a report by the USDA, less than half of which is fully repurposed. Now, ambitious and environmentally-conscious distillers are finding ways to transform whey into the spirit industry’s next on-trend beverage.
Food scientist Emily Darchuk launched Wheyward Spirits in 2020, on the eve of the pandemic. Five years later, her brand is available in 40 states and thriving. “In my career as a food scientist in the natural food and beverage industry, I saw a huge gap in spirits on the market and seized an opportunity to craft a spirit aligned with the values of a modern consumer and make a unique product for those who care about the origins of their food,” she says.
With consumers increasingly conscious about the ethics and sustainability of their purchasing choices, the market is ripe for whey-based spirits. Mark Simmonds, co-founder of New Zealand-based Broken Shed Vodka, credits consumer interest in whey-based spirits with helping the brand enter the U.S. market. “It has been one of our proud and differentiating product points,” he says.
While brands like Wheyward and Broken Shed are cracking the distribution market, farm-to-glass creamstilleries are offering a hyperlocal interactive entry point for drinkers who like their sauce from the source. At Minnesota’s Redhead Creamery, everything happens onsite. “We fertilize the soil with cow manure, grow the crops that feed the cows, which make the milk, which enters the cheese vat, from which the whey is diverted to our federally-bonded winery and, ultimately, to our federally-bonded distillery,” explains co-owner and distiller Lucas Sjostrom.
Over at TMK Creamery in Oregon, multiple tour options are offered for those who want to milk, groom and pet their “cowlebrities” while sipping cocktails made from their very own “cowcohol” for a fully immersive experience.
But what do whey-based spirits actually taste like? “Just like potato vodka doesn’t taste like potatoes, milk sugar vodka doesn’t taste like milk,” says Heather Mullins, cofounder and distiller at Knowlton House Distillery in Wisconsin. “However, it retains a silkiness that is unique to its source.”
As with any other spirit, no two whey-based brands taste alike, but a textured, sleek, creamy mouthfeel and subtle sweetness are key characteristics. Darchuk describes her Wheyward Spirit as having “oaky hints of vanilla cream and warm spice with a subtly sweet aroma,” while her Wheyskey has a more intense, toffee-forward expression. Knowlton House’s award-winning TenHead gins and vodka retain to-style flavor profiles enhanced by the delicate whey backbone. At Copper Crow Distillery, the first Native American-owned distillery in the United States, cofounder and distiller Curtis Basina makes a wide-range of whey-based spirits from amaretto to aquavit, all with whey’s “wholesome mouthfeel.”
While the results are rewarding, distilling whey is far from simple. The science bit of transforming it into the lush, velvety liquor these distilleries are producing requires exceptional skills and knowledge, and each distillery has their own process.
“Selecting the right strain of yeast for the job was the real challenge,” Mullins says, whose background is in fermentation science. “Typical brewing and distilling yeast strains won’t ferment milk sugar, so it took a couple years of research and fermentation trials with homebrewing equipment to optimize our fermentation method.”
Basina agrees. His process involves reverse osmosis to concentrate the lactose and re-pasturisation, as well as specialized yeast strains, all efforts he considers worthwhile. “It’s not easy, but we’ve taken something considered a waste product and turned it into a value-added product,” he says.
And the added value is indeed significant. At Redhead, Sjostrom began distilling when he discovered he could increase the worth of his leftover whey 100-fold. Even for distillers purchasing whey, outlay is in the region of $100 per 1,000 liters, most of which would be discarded or used for animal feed. By giving dairy farmers a practical, affordable way to upcycle their whey, it’s a win for both the dairy and spirits industries — and, of course, for adventurous, eco-friendly drinkers.
With the word about whey spreading faster than butter, producers are forging forward with bespoke cocktail menus and collaborations, such as Wheyward’s recent work with Ben & Jerry’s on the return of their Dublin Mudslide ice cream. “It was a values-led dream come true,” Darchuk says.
Getting this kind of star power behind whey-based spirits has helped spread the word about how tasty and sustainable they are, as have multiple award-wins for brands like TenHead and Wheyward, whose distribution now includes Total Wine and Whole Foods. “U.S. consumers are now open to innovation beyond the traditional categories that align with their values and more mindful purchasing habits,” Darchuk says.
