Boozy Cheeses Are an Old Trend That is New Again

Forget the scary supermarket neon-colored cheese spreads. Using alcoholic beverages to make artisan cheese is all the rage. I was inspired to write this story upon discovering new cheeses that incorporate delicious boozy drinks, like Withersbrook Blue from Jasper Hill in Vermont and Trilby from Cherry Grove in New Jersey.

But marrying alcohol and cheese is anything but new. Sometime during the 12th century, a meticulous monk decided to clean the surface of a cheese aging in the monastery cellar in the same way he was cleaning the rest of the cellar – by brushing the wheel with salty beer. The cheese developed an orange rind, a creamy interior, and a definite funk. Bonus: it was delicious.

To this day many, people call washed rind cheeses like Époisses, Langres, Taleggio and Munster “monastic” or “monastery” cheese. (The cheeses may also be washed with a salty brine, rather than alcohol.) The cheesemaking technique has traveled far in time, geography, and flavor. Read about washed rind cheeses from California.

Boozy Cheeses: Another Way to Express Terroir

Julia Treloar, a fromager at Toronto’s Cheese Boutique, is a fan of boozy cheese and has seen their prevalence grow. “In the last five years, I have definitely seen an upward trend in the incorporation of wine, beer, cider and spirits with cheeses,” says Treloar. “I believe that the marriage of locally made cheeses, and alcohol together is a lovely way to showcase our unique terroir, as well as the talented cheesemakers and artisans representing our province. It's also a great way to enjoy the flavor of alcohol without the buzz that comes with it.”

I’ll use Trilby, one of my new favorites, as a delicious example. It’s a newbie from the farmstead cheesemakers at Cherry Grove in Lawrenceville, NJ. They start with a tiny round of pasteurized grass-fed cow’s milk, which they wash in local Dad’s Hat Rye Whiskey as it matures. They use that same Pennsylvania whiskey—which is brawny and herbal—to soak fig leaves from their farm or a neighboring organic farm, which are then wrapped around the Trilby wheels, like gorgeous presents. After about a month of aging, you can unwrap the fig leaves to find multilayered beefy, buttermilky flavors beneath a creamsicle hued rind. The leaf imparts a fruity sweetness, and the whiskey delivers aromas of malty rye. It’s full of depth and impossible not to go back for more.

How Cheeses Become Boozy

Washing the rind
Infusing the paste
Wrapping with boozy coatings
Soaking and aging the cheese

Washing a rind is not the only way to combine booze and cheese. “Alcohol infused cheeses can differ in the way that the booze is incorporated into the cheese; soaked after completion of the cheesemaking or washed in the cheese to promote bacteria growth,” Treloar explains. Most often the wine, beer, or spirit is made hyper-locally, and its inclusion is another way to celebrate a cheese’s unique terroir.

Take Withersbrook Blue, a brand-new raw milk blue that gets its name from a babbling forest brook that originates right by Jasper Hill. It begins its life a lot like their classic beloved blue cheese, Bayley Hazen, but after 60 days of careful aging in their cellars, it gets wrapped in a special patch with a generous glug of Eden Ice Cider—a sweet alcoholic cider made from apple juice naturally condensed by Vermont’s freezing winter temperatures. Over the next 2 – 4 months of maturation, the alcoholic sharpness permeates the cheese, as does the heady, floral apple sweetness. The finished cheese has a fudgy, dense texture, notes of roasted hazelnuts and honey, and a great sweet-savory balance.

“Taking a bath” in alcohol is a smart way for cheesemakers to impart original flavor and personality into their creations. Take Drunken Goat, a favorite from Murcia, Spain (in Spain, Queso de Murcia al Vino has a D.O.P., protection for the cheese’s process and name.) This smooth goat cheese is soaked in the traditional style wine of the region, Doble Pasta, made from the Monastrell grape. Drunken Goat is aged for 60 days, during which time the rind takes on a pretty purple color and the paste develops a fruity, earthy flavor.

Pairing Boozy Cheeses

The depth and complexity of boozy cheeses makes them fun to pair. One of Treloar’s favorite cheese memories is from the Cheese Bar in Covent Garden, where she tried cider-washed Yarlington with candied peanuts. “The funky, silky-smooth texture of this Reblochon style and the earthiness and sweet flavor of the peanuts made for a divine experience,” she remembers.

“Using elements of the alcohol is also a fabulous way to make a great pairing,” Treloar suggests. Withersbrook Blue would be fabulous served for dessert with a sweet cider, topped with a dollop of lemon curd or apple butter. “Queen Bee from Blyth Farm Cheese uses a locally produced Mead Wine, my favorite way to pair this honey wine cheese is with honeycomb from Rosewood estate Winery in Ontario,” Treloar says.

9 Boozy Cheeses to Try

Treloar and I both love to enjoy cheesemakers’ boozy creations. Here are some cheeses featuring alcohol worth seeking out.

Afterglow from Blakesville Creamery in Port Washington, Wisconsin, is a goat’s milk button washed in a Wisconsin favorite, New Glarus Belgian Red Ale.

Epoisses, rumored to be banned on the Paris Metro due to its pungent aroma, is a Burgundy classic, made since the 1700s by washing wheels in the local Marc de Bourgogne, a local digestif.

L'Affiné au Chablis, also from Burgundy, gets washed in Chablis for a gold-tinged rind that gives way to a silky interior.

Boozin’ Ewe from Carr Valley in Wisconsin. Their award-winning sheep milk cheese, Marisa, gets soaked in local Wollersheim Winery Port.

Greensward from Jasper Hill and Murray’s Cheese Caves in Long Island City, where spruce-wrapped wheels are washed in Virtue Hard Cider.

Red Game Changer from Stonetown Artisan Cheese in St Mary's, Ontario, semi firm Alpine style cow's milk cheese soaked in red wine from Vineland Estate.

Queen Bee from Blyth Farm Cheese in Blyth, Ontario. A mead rubbed farmstead sheep's milk cheese.

Dark Side of the Moo from Gunn's Hill Artisan Cheese in Woodstock, Ontario. Swiss Mutchli style cheese soaked in Chocolate Stout from Upper Thames Brewery.

Yarlington from King Stone Dairy, Gloucestershire. Washed in locally produces cider, soft and silky texture.

Looking for even more boozy cheeses? Check out 6 Cheeses Under the Influence of alcohol.