Is Vodka Actually Vegan?

(Spoiler: Sometimes, But We Definitely Are)

Look, we get it. You're standing in the spirits aisle, clutching your reusable shopping bag, and suddenly you're hit with an existential crisis: Is my vodka vegan? And more importantly, should I care? 🍸

The short answer? Not all vodka is vegan. The slightly longer answer? It's complicated, involves fish bladders (yes, really), and somewhere along the way we'll throw in some donkey facts because we promised them in the description and Dutch Barn always delivers.

Wait, How Can Vodka NOT Be Vegan?

Vodka is basically just water and ethanol, right? How could that possibly not be vegan? Well, buckle up buttercup, because the spirits industry has some tricks up its sleeve that would make even David Blaine raise an eyebrow.

The problem isn't what goes into the vodka, it's what's used to filter it. Some vodka producers use animal-derived products in the filtration process. We're talking:

Isinglass – A fancy word for 'fish bladder gelatin.' Yes, someone looked at a fish bladder and thought, 'You know what? This would make excellent vodka filter material.' The 18th century was a weird time.

Gelatin – Usually derived from pig or cow bones. Because apparently, some distillers looked at the fish bladder option and said, 'Nah, too obvious. Let's use bones instead.'

Milk proteins – Casein and other milk-derived substances sometimes make an appearance. It's like someone confused 'vodka and milk' with 'filtered through milk.' Easy mistake. Not.

The Dutch Barn Difference: Apple and Potato, Completely Vegan

Here's where we get to blow our own trumpet (which is definitely vegan, by the way, it's made of brass, not elephant tusks).

Dutch Barn vodka is made from a unique combination of apple and potato spirit. We use apple spirit made from 100% British apples, balanced with a touch of redistilled potato spirit. This blend is something only we do, to our knowledge, and it creates vodka with natural clean smooth taste from the apple and a creamy mouthfeel from the potato.

And our filtration? Also vegan. We use modern filtration methods that don't require any fish to sacrifice their bladders for our drinking pleasure. No bones, no fish bits, no milk proteins. Just clean, crisp vodka that won't make your vegan mate give you the disappointed look across the dinner table.

Plus, because we use a combination of modern column stills and traditional pot stills with rectification columns, we achieve excellent purity without needing to rely on questionable filtration materials. The result is vodka that's naturally smooth and doesn't need fish bladders or bone char to make it drinkable.

We distil through both column and pot stills, giving us precise control over the process and producing vodka that's pure, clean, and completely vegan from start to finish.

The Promised Donkey Facts (We Always Keep Our Promises)

Right, we did promise donkey facts in the description, and unlike some vodka brands who promise 'premium quality' and deliver mediocrity in a fancy bottle, we deliver. Here are some completely unnecessary but oddly entertaining donkey facts:

Donkeys are herbivores, making them naturally vegan. Unlike certain vodkas. Take that, fish-bladder filtered spirits.

A donkey's bray can be heard from over 60 miles away. That's roughly the same distance you'll need to be from your laptop before your boss stops hearing you at the 'work from home Friday' drinks session.

Donkeys have excellent memories and can remember places and other donkeys they've met for up to 25 years. Which is longer than you'll remember that embarrassing thing you said at the party last weekend, especially if Dutch Barn was involved.

Baby donkeys are called foals. Baby vodka bottles are called miniatures. One of these facts is more useful than the other.

How to Know If Your Vodka Is Vegan

If you're not drinking Dutch Barn (questionable life choices, but we'll allow it), here's how to check if your vodka is vegan:

Check the label – Some brands are now proudly displaying their vegan credentials. If they've gone through the effort of getting certified, they'll want you to know about it. It's like CrossFit or being a marathon runner (if they are, they'll tell you).

Look at the ingredients – Grain-based vodkas might be vegan, but it's not guaranteed. Fruit-based vodkas (like, oh, we don't know, Dutch Barn) tend to have a better track record.

Check Barnivore – Yes, there's a whole website dedicated to vegan alcohol. Welcome to the internet. It's called Barnivore (no relation to our 'Barn,' though we appreciate the nominal solidarity), and it's your best friend for checking if your booze is animal-free.

When in doubt, ask – Contact the manufacturer. If they can't tell you whether their product is vegan, that's probably a red flag waving at you like it's trying to get your attention at a football match.

The Bottom Line (Unlike Fish Bladders, This One's Straightforward)

Not all vodka is created equal, and definitely not all vodka is vegan. Some of it is filtered through materials that would make a vegan's skin crawl faster than you can say 'fish bladder gelatin.'

Dutch Barn vodka? Completely vegan. Made from apples, filtered using methods that don't involve any part of any animal, and still managing to taste better than vodkas that cost twice as much and use three times as many syllables to describe themselves.

So whether you're vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, or just someone who thinks fish bladders have no place in your cocktail, Dutch Barn has got you covered.

Now if you'll excuse us, we have some apples to ferment and some more donkey facts to research for the next blog post nobody asked for but everyone secretly needed.

Cheers,

The Dutch Barn Team

(Proudly vegan since always and avid donkey enthusiasts since not soon enough)