“Cowcohol” Vodka Made From Creamery’s Leftover Whey

2020 - Volume #44, Issue #3, Page #09

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Good cows. Good cheese. Good milk vodka. All are part of the formula for success at TMK Farm/TMK Creamery in Canby, Ore.
    If you’ve never heard of milk vodka, you aren’t alone. Todd Koch, who handles the 700 acres of crops, beef cattle, and marketing for the Oregon family operation, learned about it through an article last year.
    “Oregon State University was fermenting and distilling whey,” he says. “We’ve got plenty of whey so we decided to make use of it.”
    Koch contacted Jason Greenwood of Divine Distillers, to make and label Cowcohol for TMK Farm/TMK Creamery. It took some time to figure out because whey is more challenging to break down and requires special yeast.
    “From the cheese vat to the fermenter to the distiller, it takes about 16 days to make vodka from whey,” Koch says, explaining that vodka from whey is high quality but has a low yield - about 2 or 2 1/2 percent (vs. 10 to 12 percent for grains). “It’s crystal clear, and the feedback we get is that it’s smooth and tastes great when served neat. It is caramelly with a sweet finish.”
    By the end of 2019, Cowcohol was on the market. It didn’t take long for demand to create a backorder list. The farm’s new product brings in additional income and much more.
    “It also gives us a lot of visibility and an opportunity for customers to connect with what happens on a farm,” he says, noting that it’s also good for sales of the cheese which is also produced on the farm.
    “We are all first generation farmers,” Koch says, who started with a registered heifer he purchased in 1987 as part of a 4-H project. He and his brother focused on building a herd with good genetic seed stock, and they sold milk to a cooperative for 23 years before their sister joined them in 2017 to make cheese and open the on-farm creamery.
    “We sent cheese to the World Cheese competition in Italy and won a silver medal with garlic dill cheddar curds. That’s a feather in my sister’s hat,” Koch says.
    Cowcohol milk vodka appears to be another winner.
    “We’ll grow the herd some, but we’ll never be huge,” Koch says about their 20-cow dairy. “We could partner with other creameries for more whey.
    “I think milk vodka will be good for the dairy industry because it reaches new people. The cows have been the real heroes of our story. They create a resource that is pretty amazing. And as an industry we need to do a better job of reconnecting with consumers,” he says.
    TMK Farms does that by inviting people to their farm to see the cows and how the cheese is made. Check out the website for details.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, TMK Farm/TMK Dairy, 27221 S. Dryland Rd., Canby, Ore. 97013 (ph 503-683-3397; tmkcreamery@gmail.com; www.tmkcreamery.com; Facebook: TMK Creamery).

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“Cowcohol” Vodka Made From Creamery’s Leftover Whey DAIRY EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Good cows Good cheese Good milk vodka All are part of the formula for success at TMK Farm/TMK Creamery in Canby Ore If you’ve never heard of milk vodka you aren’t alone Todd Koch who handles the 700 acres of crops beef cattle and marketing for the Oregon family operation learned about it through an article last year “Oregon State University was fermenting and distilling whey ” he says “We’ve got plenty of whey so we decided to make use of it ” Koch contacted Jason Greenwood of Divine Distillers to make and label Cowcohol for TMK Farm/TMK Creamery It took some time to figure out because whey is more challenging to break down and requires special yeast “From the cheese vat to the fermenter to the distiller it takes about 16 days to make vodka from whey ” Koch says explaining that vodka from whey is high quality but has a low yield - about 2 or 2 1/2 percent vs 10 to 12 percent for grains “It’s crystal clear and the feedback we get is that it’s smooth and tastes great when served neat It is caramelly with a sweet finish ” By the end of 2019 Cowcohol was on the market It didn’t take long for demand to create a backorder list The farm’s new product brings in additional income and much more “It also gives us a lot of visibility and an opportunity for customers to connect with what happens on a farm ” he says noting that it’s also good for sales of the cheese which is also produced on the farm “We are all first generation farmers ” Koch says who started with a registered heifer he purchased in 1987 as part of a 4-H project He and his brother focused on building a herd with good genetic seed stock and they sold milk to a cooperative for 23 years before their sister joined them in 2017 to make cheese and open the on-farm creamery “We sent cheese to the World Cheese competition in Italy and won a silver medal with garlic dill cheddar curds That’s a feather in my sister’s hat ” Koch says Cowcohol milk vodka appears to be another winner “We’ll grow the herd some but we’ll never be huge ” Koch says about their 20-cow dairy “We could partner with other creameries for more whey “I think milk vodka will be good for the dairy industry because it reaches new people The cows have been the real heroes of our story They create a resource that is pretty amazing And as an industry we need to do a better job of reconnecting with consumers ” he says TMK Farms does that by inviting people to their farm to see the cows and how the cheese is made Check out the website for details Contact: FARM SHOW Followup TMK Farm/TMK Dairy 27221 S Dryland Rd Canby Ore 97013 ph 503-683-3397; tmkcreamery@gmail com; www tmkcreamery com; Facebook: TMK Creamery

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