Review: Copper Crow Whey Vodka
Copper Crow Whey Vodka is crafted at Copper Crow Distillers in Bayfield Wisconsin. Copper Crow is the first native American owned distillery in the US. The distillery was established 2016 by Linda and Curt Basina. Both are members of the Red Cliff band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Curt a retired Wisconsin State Trooper is the distiller. He also makes a wheat vodka, gin, and rum. Copper Crow Whey Vodka is made through a partnership between the University of Wisconsin Stout in Menominee and Copper Crow Distillery. It is made from Wisconsin whey, a by-product of the cheese making industry. The whey is sourced from Burnett Dairy in Grantsburg Wisconsin. It is distilled in small batches and then continuously filtered for 24 hours. The spirit is cut with well water from a Lake Superior aquifer. Read more 
Review: Black Cow Vodka
Black Cow Vodka was launched in 2012. It was created by Jason Barber, a farmer running his own dairy farm with 250 cows. The Barber family has been making cheese and producing milk for over 200 years. Black Cow is made entirely from the milk of grass grazed cows. The milk is separated into curds and whey. The curds are used to produce cheese. The whey is used to craft the vodka. A proprietary yeast is used to ferment the whey. The spirit is distilled in a copper still made in Germany by A.G. Holstein. Doesn’t it seem appropriate that a Holstein still is use to produce a milk based vodka? After distillation the vodka is triple filtered. Read more
Review: Broken Shed Vodka
Broken Shed Vodka was released 2011. The vodka is named for the broken down shed where the spirit was first created on the South Island of New Zealand in the Township of Wanaka. Wanaka is situated in a glacier carved basin on the shores of Lake Wanoka. Broken Shed is made from distilled whey and a blend of water from two of New Zealand’s purest water sources. East Tamaki located on the North Island and Central Otago located on the South Island. It is four times distilled and filtered through a custom designed charcoal and depth filtration process. Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. While whey may seem like an unusual base to distill vodka from, several other vodkas including Milk Money, VDKA 6100, Vermont White, and Black Cow also distill their vodka from milk. Broken Shed is crafted without using additives or sugars. Read more
Review: VDKA 6100 Vodka
VDKA 6100 Vodka was released April 2004. It is backed by actor Robert De Niro and Australian Casino Mogul James Packer. Yes, this is the same James Packer who was engaged to Mariah Carey. Robert De Niro, also had a hand in designing the packaging. The vodka is crafted by Artisan Spirits Merchants, with whey sourced from grass fed cows milk in the Bay of Plenty Region. VDKA 6100 is fermented using a rare strain of yeast imported from Ireland. The spirit is distilled three times and filtered through carbon rockets. Pure locally sourced natural New Zealand spring water is blended to proof. The VDKA 6100 name pays homage to the distance between New Zealand and the US. 6100 is also the country code of Perth Australia. Crown Metropol Perth, one of co-owner James Packer properties, is located there. Read more
Review: Milk Money Vodka
Milk Money Vodka was introduced in Colorado and New Mexico January 2014. Since then distribution has expanded. Product developer and President of Leche Spirits, Garren Vissar comes from a long line of dairy farmer extending back to the Netherlands. After graduating with a bachelors degree in Dairy Science from Cal Poly SLO it didn’t take long for Garren to realize dairy farming was not for him. While daydreaming in his double wide trailer near Roswell New Mexico he decided to create a vodka from 100% dairy milk. After struggling to develop this himself he found a distiller in New Zealand who helped complete his vision. Milk Money Vodka is made with 100% dairy milk in a process that converts the lactose into a fermentable sugar. It is double distilled and double filtered. Milk Money is distilled in New Zealand and bottled in Mira Loma California by Lavecke Corporation. Read more