Mosinee distillery turns milk sugars into cocktails

Knowlton House Distillery is turning milk sugars into alcohol.

The distillery uses those sugars to create vodka and gin, called Ten-Head. The spirit starts with a special strain of yeast that comes from local cheese factories. They ferment it, then distill it into the spirit.

Co-owner Heather Mullins said the milk sugar does not affect the flavor.

“It does retain some of that nuance, that like round, smooth mouthfeel that you get from that milk sugar. And I think that’s really what’s the secret to the kind of special notes we get within our spirits. But they don’t taste like milk. Absolutely not,” Mullins said.

The distillery works with more than 90 local farms to get the whey used in their cocktails.