Black Cow was founded in 2012 by West Dorset dairy farmer Jason Barber and Paul Archard, after around five years spent working out how to distil vodka from whey, the liquid left over from cheesemaking. Barber's family has made cheddar since 1833, one of the longest-running cheesemaking operations in the country, and the vodka uses whey from the same milk that goes into their cheese, so little is wasted between the two processes. Production is based at Childhay Manor, a working farm centred on a thirteenth-century manor house near Beaminster, where the spirit is distilled and bottled on site. Visitors can book a distillery tour, run on alternate Fridays and Saturdays, which takes in the production process, a tasting and a cocktail, and there is a Bar and Kitchen on site serving food made from local ingredients for anyone wanting to stay for lunch after the tour finishes.
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