Bourbon and cheese are two of my favorite things. And if I had to choose only one, it would probably be cheese. I love cheese of all kinds. Everything from 15-year-old sharp cheddar to crumbly, stinky blue, to process cheese food. I love it all.
And before you get on me for including process cheese food, remember I grew up poor enough to stand in line for free government cheese. You develop a taste for things after you have enough of it. Besides, there isn’t a burger or a grilled cheese sandwich that can’t be made better with the addition of a little melty American Cheese. (I tend to use both process cheese and a blend of Cheddar, and Monterey Jack for both if I have the opportunity…I like my cheeseburgers cheesy and that American really helps get the other cheeses melting.) I’ve even made my own process cheese out of an eight-year cheddar and this recipe from Serious Eats. I’ve made my own fresh mozzarella too, but that doesn’t make as good of a story.
As you might have noticed, when I get geeky about something, I tend to get really geeky about something. That said, one thing I never did geek out about was combining bourbon and cheese. To be honest, it never occurred to me to combine the two before consuming them. I’ve had plenty of cheeses with bourbon and plenty of bourbons with cheese. But only once before have I had a cheese that has bourbon as one of its ingredients. And I really liked it. When we saw that a cheese company headquartered in my wife’s hometown was selling a Bourbon Gouda as well, well we had to try that one too.
Cheese Bros. Inc. is a company created by a pair of friends with cheese in their genes. The story starts over 100 years ago with a Swiss immigrant to the US. He settled in Northwestern Wisconsin and started making cheese. Eventually, his family sold the business to a large international dairy firm. Apparently, the family couldn’t quite get cheese out of their blood as not one, but two further cheese businesses were formed by the descendants. One became the largest producer of Italian-style cheeses in the country (and employer of many of my family members at one time or another). And the other is Cheese Bros, Inc.
Cheese Bros. Inc. is a small firm that sells cheeses sourced from all over Wisconsin. Their store is located in the Mall of America, where I discovered them. Interesting to me that they started just a few miles from where I started and I found them at their store just a few miles from where am now. Of course, you don’t need to live in any of the places I have lived to enjoy their cheeses. They have a website that will ship it to where you happen to be from.
I’m a big fan of the smoked provolone and the eight-year-old cheddar. Let’s see how I feel about their Bourbon Gouda.
Cheese Bros. Bourbon Gouda
Purchase Info: $5.99 from the Cheese Bros. website.
Nose: Buttery with a hint of smoke and bourbon.
Mouth: Buttery and sweet with subtly smoky, bourbon notes on the "finish."
Thoughts: This tastes great on a cracker and pairs amazingly with Henry McKenna Bottled in Bond. I think I like this one more than the Red Apple one I reviewed earlier.
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