Cremont: paired with Madoka sake (Sasaichi Sake Brewery, Yamanashi)
Bonnieview Farm (raw sheeps’ milk. S. Albany, VT)
Called ‘The Cream of Vermont’, this double-crème cow/goat mix is heaven on a cheese plate. Fresh goat and cows’ milk is spiked with a touch of rich cows’ cream to give this cheese its luscious and supple texture. The flavor is somewhere in between fresh butter and tart, lemony chevre, with a touch of nutty, yeasty flavor notes contributed by the rind. Aged for 6 weeks.
Slyboro: paired with Shichida 75% polishing ratio sake (Tenzan Sake Brewery, Saga)
Consider Bardwell Farm. (raw goats’ milk, VT)
This cheese is brand spankin’ new and was made especially for the opening of Epicerie Boulud! The creamy, semi-firm wheels are washed in hard apple cider from Slyboro Cider House, located in Granville, NY, just a stone’s throw from Consider Bardwell Farm. The cider wash imparts a distinctly fruity and pungent flavor to the rich, musky goats’ milk. Depending on the season Slyboro is crafted either from Nubian goats’ milk sourced from a partner farm of Consider Bardwell, which is considerably richer in butterfat, or in the summer months, from Consider Bardwell Farm’s own herd. Aged 75-90 days.
Kind of Blue: paired with Aiyu Ume plum sake (Aiyu Sake Brewery, Ibaraki)
Woodcock Farm (pasteurized cows’ milk. Weston, VT)
A gooey American blue that could rival the sweet, decadent, and puddle-iscious Gorgonzola Cremificato from Italy. The blue veining is sparse, giving this cheese a wonderful balance of milky sweetness, peanutty flavors, and blasts of rich, chocolately blue. Aged for 2 months.
Bayley Hazen Blue: paired with Yuzu Omoi sake (Yamamoto Honke Brewery, Kyoto)
Jasper Hill Farm (raw cows’ milk. Greensboro, VT)
This blue is so good it’s almost obscene. Almost. Named after the Bayley Hazen road, built by George Washington to launch a Canadian invasion way back when, it is creamy and chocolaty and salty, oh my. The craftsmanship executed by the cheesemakers up at Jasper Hill is laudable, and lucky for us, edible too. Each wheel is crafted from the milk of the Kehler’s Ayrshire cows, a breed known for its balanced, yet fatty milk. Kinda makes you thankful we ever had a reason to fight with Canada. Aged for 3-5 months.
Goat Tomme: paired with Koikawa Nigori sake (Koikawa Sake Brewery, Yamagata)
Twig Farm (raw goats’ milk. West Cornwall, VT)
My reaction when I first tried this cheese was this: DEAR GOD. Yes, it was nearly the perfect cheese: distinctly goaty and slightly musky, but with some delicious herbal, pine-y, and floral notes issuing forth. The texture is sublime, thick and succulent, but with a melty mouth feel, like the great cheeses from the Pyrenees. Michael Lee, a painter turned cheese monger turned cheese maker is rocking and rolling and we’re all just getting fatter and happier. Aged for 3-4 months.
Vermont Shepherd: paired with Aiyu Jumai sake(Aiyu Sake Brewery, Ibaraki)
Major Farm (raw sheeps’ milk. Putney, VT)
A deliciously nutty and slightly sweet aged sheeps’ milk cheese from the artisanal cheese pioneer David Major. Back in the 90′s, when milking sheep seemed to be just about the craziest thing you could do, the Majors started making Vermont Shepherd.?The result of a trip to the Pyrenees region of France, Vermont Shepherd is a rustic-rinded, smooth sheeps’ milk cheese, like those crafted by?French?shepherds?for hundreds of years.? The flavor is balanced and elegant, with an unparalleled richness of grassy, sheepy notes.
Grayson: paired with Matsu No Hana sake (Kawashima Sake Brewery, Shiga)
Meadow Creek Dairy (raw cows’ milk. Galax, VA)
A delicious washed rind cheese in a delicious square format. The members of the Feete family are traditionalists when it comes to raising their herd, only making cheese when the cows are on pasture, from April to October. The result: an intense, beefy, and pungent cheese whose straw-colored paste reflects all the goodness of the Virginia mountain grass the cows are munching on. When extremely ripe, Grayson can achieve the consistency of buttercream frosting… an eating opportunity not to be missed! Aged 3 months.
