We often take for granted how many features of our every day lives once seemed like some whacky futuristic invention you would only find in movies. Touchscreen phones. Contactless payment. Video calls. Milk vending machines.
Okay, maybe the last one not so much but it could be all ahead of us thanks to the Milk Shack, an innovation in milk dispensing from Smyths Farm in Dromiskin, Co. Louth. Invented by Tomás Smyth, Milk Shack is said to be Ireland's first ever self-service fresh milk vending machine, where punters can pull up and get in line with reusable glass bottles to be filled with fresh cow's milk - just metres away from where the very cows are milked only hours beforehand!
This quirky gizmo is a must visit for any milk aficionado, offering fresh milk that has been gently pasteurised, filtered, and chilled across the farmyard before being available to pour directly from the vending machine.
If creamy, non-homogenised fresh milk is not your thing, the Milk Shack also serves up delicious milkshakes with classic options including banana, chocolate and strawberry for the sweet toothed amongst us.
The Smyths have truly thought of everything in this new venture for their farm, even the reusable glass bottles they sell have been designed with a meticulous eye for detail. The bottles are branded with the term 'Wholey Cow' - get it? - emblazoned above a ludicrously cute illustration of a seemingly standard cow. However, if Dromiskin residents were to look a little closer they'll spot an Easter egg of sorts as the cow's markings are actually made up of a hidden map of the parish!
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It's not just aesthetics that have driven the design of these nifty bottles, the Smyths believe a glass bottle enhances the quality of their product. "We always had milk in glass bottles at home before we came up with 'Wholey Cow' and I think it tastes nicer and it lasts longer in a glass bottle than in plastic because a glass bottle is colder in a fridge," Tomás recently told Drogheda Life.
If you fancy supporting local Irish business - and sure, why wouldn't you? - you can purchase a 500ml refill of this gorgeous milk for just €1.00, with a shot of added flavour costing just 50 cent more. However be warned, the early bird catches the worm at Smyths Farm as unsurprisingly this neat idea is proving hugely popular with locals, the Smyths have sold out of milk nearly every day they've been in action so far.
They've even been paid a visit by none other than Insta-foodies the Gastro Gays who took to TikTok to show their followers how the whole thing works. Check it out below but prepare to be left so parched for a tall glass of ice-cold milk that you may find yourself half way to Dromiskin before you can find the cow emoji...
Featured Image Credit: Unsplash
Topics: Ireland