SOMETIMES in life the best ideas come about as the result of an age-old problem.

And with Black Cow, their biggest problem has now become their biggest seller.

Chances are you will already have come across this West Dorset name in your local supermarket – though probably not in the cheese chillers, but the booze aisle.

That’s because this pioneering dairy has been causing quite a stir on the cocktail scene with their vodka – which is distilled from the milk of the farm’s cows.

This is one farm where the gold top isn't for splashing on your cornflakes each morning - unless you're into that sort of thing of course.

The rather unusual ingredient for distillation came about following a conversation with a Polish friend who suggested using milk for a smoother vodka to sixth-generation farmer Jason Barber and business partner Paul "Archer" Archard.

What they soon discovered was that diversifying the farm near Beaminster to incorporate a distillery would provide a means to an end of what to do with all of the whey separated from the curds in the cheesemaking process.

The curds are still used to create their delicious cheddar, but the whey gets fermented into beer before being distilled, triple filtered and hand bottled with their signature gold top. Don't expect a milky complexion, this vodka is crystal clear.

Unsurprisingly, such an unusual approach to vodka has seen the by-product of the farm steal all the headlines in recent years, leaving their delicious vintage cheddar somewhat overshadowed.

Sainsbury's at Bridgemead may well stock Black Cow vodka, but you won't find their delicious cheddar there. Luckily, this dairy-cum-distillery has a comprehensive online shop, and the attractive black truckles with their own gold top labels can be found in a number of delis and farm shops locally.

TV presenter Mariella Frostrup described the vodka as being "the finest, smoothest, most velvety vodka I've ever tasted", which interestingly is how I would describe the cheddar too. I suppose that shouldn't be too surprising, given that they both have the same provenance.

It's a deeply rich cheddar with a complex flavour, and sightly crumbly as all good vintage cheddars should be.

For years we have all thought that the perfect pairing was cheese and wine, or port for that matter.

But no, this really is a match made in heaven. As Mariella said, Black Cow could be the ruin of me!