Meet the Founders
Happy Cow Vodka was built from the ground up by James and Maddy Phillips.
James is a Marine Corps Special Forces veteran who found his true calling after service in the rugged life of ranching and cowboying. As a self-taught, first-generation rancher, he’s brought relentless discipline, heart, and a steadfast commitment to family and faith to Happy Cow Vodka. Raised in Hawaii, Maddy grew up surfing Oahu's waves and hiking every mountain she could find. From flying planes to tearing up dirt bike trails, she has always embraced adventure and challenge. Now, as a fearless entrepreneur and devoted mom, she pours the same passion into raising kids and growing a business they are proud of, crafting a vodka that’s as smooth and authentic as the life they lead.
Together, they blend tradition with innovation, embodying a spirit that’s uniquely Western, honest, hard-working, and deeply rooted in community. Their journey isn’t just about forging the trail for a modern vodka, but creating a legacy that honors American history and culture.
Every bottle of Happy Cow Milk Vodka tells a story of grit, love, and unwavering dedication to living authentically.
The Bigger Vision
What had started as another wild idea of ours after several, admittedly, has quickly grown into something much bigger than we could have planned. It all began with our 'starter farm', Porter Ranch, named after a yellow Lab we call Porter and lovingly refer to as 'first born.'
Porter was James' service dog that he was gifted while serving in the Marine's Special Operations Command. Porter led our family out of the city and into rural America, complete with all the chickens to chase, milk cows and horses we train ourselves.
What became even clearer to us as we learned this old way of living through new sets of eyes, is that the American West is disappearing. Every year, up to 2 million acres of ranch and grazing land are lost to development, industry, and an economy that makes ranching nearly impossible to sustain. These lands feed families while maintaining history, our traditions and reconnects generations to something tangible and real.
Happy Cow Vodka is oddly enough our vessel to our legacy ranch foundation and ultimate vision of where we intend to build a place where veterans can heal, community gathers and the traditions of ranching and the West live on. Markets, music, cattle, and wide-open land the way God intended is what we envision in a legacy that spans generations. Every bottle purchased carries that mission forward.
We hope to share something bigger than a bottle of vodka. Our aim is to
preserve the American West and its history, to support family ranches and create a community of people who want to reconnect with the land and lifestyle the way that we have worked so hard to do.
