My guest this week, Jason Barber, puts it like this: if you’ve been sitting behind a cow for 15 to 20 years, your mind has time to wonder about the best way to use the milk you’re producing.  

The Barbers are the world’s oldest surviving family of cheddar makers. They’ve been making cheese and producing milk for over 200 years – and up until recently, conventional dairy products had done them proud.  But then, in 2012, Jason launched something very different: the world’s first and only vodka to be made entirely out of milk.   

In the last 7 years since it arrived on the scene, Jason’s farm has had to ramp up production of its unique Black Cow Vodka from a couple of thousand bottles a year to between 120 and 130 thousand.   Its fans include local delis, farm shops and bars, as well as major supermarkets and – as you’ll hear – a clutch of A-list Hollywood stars. 

Discover how a piece of yeast, the size of a flea, was the start of this incredible story…and how Jason and his talented business partner Archie turned Black Cow into a global brand.