All images copyright Compass Distillers. Used with permission.

a modern take on an ancient practice

Omid McDonald, co-founder and CEO of Dairy Distillery, had a conversation with his wife's cousin, Neal McCarten (now Partner and Director of Operations), who mentioned that his uncle’s farm was dumping skim milk. Omid saw an opportunity and the Dairy Distillery—named one of Ottawa’s Fastest Growing Companies by the Ottawa Business Journal—has been making Vodkow vodka and cream liquors by fermenting milk permeate, which contains lactose or milk sugar, since 2018.

Making spirits by fermenting milk sugar is not new. It was first fermented by the Mongols to make alcohol over a thousand years ago. Dairy Distillery collaborated with the University of Ottawa to perfect this process to convert milk permeate into a clear spirit that is smooth, smells sweet and has a caramel finish. Milk permeate, a by-product of ultrafiltered milk production, is usually dumped and dairy farmers are saddled with its disposal cost as lactose is harmful to the environment. Dairy Distillery helps reduce this dumping—every bottle of Vodkow saves 3.7kg of milk permeate—and lower costs for dairy farmers.

Vodkow vodka is carbon neutral thanks to its use of sustainable ingredients, energy efficient production and lighter packaging (including a lighter glass milk bottle), and the purchase of carbon offsets. People who are lactose intolerant don't need to worry if they want to get a shot of Vodkow as there is no lactose in the final product. These products are available on the Dairy Distillery website and in Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador and will be available nationally by the end of 2021.