Broken Shed Vodka

Broken Shed is made from whey — the liquid left over when milk is curdled for cheese — and it began, as the name says, in a broken-down old shed on the shores of Lake Wanaka in New Zealand's Southern Alps, where two friends decided over a drink that they should make a vodka themselves. Released in 2011 and in the US since 2012, it's one of a small handful of dairy-based vodkas on earth, and the logic is sustainability: whey is a byproduct that would otherwise go to waste, so no farmland is diverted to grow grain. The whey is fermented to 4 to 6% alcohol, distilled — three times, the brand says, deliberately not more so the whey's character survives — filtered through custom charcoal and depth filters, and blended with two waters: ancient mineral-rich aquifer water from Central Otago on the South Island and filtered spring water from East Tamaki on the North Island. Nothing else. No additives, no sugar, no GMOs, gluten-free at every step, 40% ABV. The Ultimate Spirits Challenge scored it 90, and it took Silver at the 2011 IWSC. Every reviewer lands on the same word: creamy. Mantripping found fresh mint, anise, vanilla, and almond with a gentle sweetness and a warm finish; the Intoxicologist found it clean with a smidgen of black pepper and a texture that delivers on its promise; the brand's own notes lead with vanilla, then citrus and fresh-cut grass. Honest note: it's silkier and faintly sweeter than grain vodka — the whey shows. For a Martini with a luxurious mouthfeel, an Espresso Martini, or ice-cold neat, it's vodka from a different world.

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