MENY
Cheese and wine is a classic combination most people have heard about. Cheese and whisky however, might seem like a weird combination. But it is absolutely delightful. The rich taste in both the whisky and the cheese can definitely complement and enhance each other and the fats in the cheese can act as a gentle cover to your palate which will make the whisky seem smoother and allow you to dig deeper in to those lighter aromas that might be hiding underneath the alcohol.
To start out I would probably choose a few different cheeses that you like, perhaps a good variety and some contrasting like hard cheeses, creamier, powerful or milder for example, and then matching them flavour to flavour and also taking the mouthfeel and body of both the cheese and whisky in consideration. Equality in cheese and whisky is usually a good thing, just like with wine. Smoke with smoke, creamy with creamy and in some cases you even have salty with salty, which would be the case with cheese that has been matured enough to develop salty cheese crystals and can then be matched with a coastal whisky with a sea salt influence.
Since I’m lucky enough to have an relatively extensive whisky cupboard at home, I grabbed some of the bottles I already own as examples of how one could pair whisky and cheese together.
I chose the following whiskies:
Ardbeg An Oa
Smoky scotch whisky from Islay that has a lot of influence from different cask types such as charred virgin oak, ex-bourbon and ex-Pedro Ximinez sherry. A good dram for smoke lovers.
Jameson Cooper’s Croze
Irish whiskey with a heavy vanilla and coconut character. Light, yummy and easy to like.
Brenne Cuvée Spéciale
French single malt that has been matured in virgin limousin oak and finished in ex-cognac casks. Smells and tastes like foam bananas and is unlike any other spirit I have ever had... in a good delicious way.
Mackmyra Skördetid
Swedish whisky that has been produced by Swedens oldest distillery that started in 1999. Has been matured in casks that have previously held Masi Amarone red wine, giving it a rich red fruit flavour with a hint of tannins.
Eden Mill Hip Flask Series No 8
Some of the first 3 year old scotch whisky from Eden Mill that has been released. The whisky has been matured in ex-port casks for around 3 years.
Glen Moray 10yo Chardonnay
This scotch whisky had been fully matured for 10 years in Chardonnay seasoned American oak barrels and has a light, dry sweetness and quite complex flavour to it.
Cheese and what to pair it with
I chose some different cheeses that would be contrasting flavours and have som fun flavours but you could really use any cheese that you like and pair those flavours with whisky.
Goat’s Cheese
This cheese has a quite distinct character and I struggled for a while with figuring out what to pair with this, but finally decided that for me the Irish vanilla-heavy Cooper’s Croze was a good pairing. The vanilla sweetness with the savoury cheese melted together and complemented each other. However a port finished whisky will probably go quite well with any style of cheese because of the flavours from the cask, so that could be another good one for any of these cheeses.
Smoky Cheese
Smoky cheese, like smoked cheddar, goes undoubtedly best with smoky whisky. An Ardbeg or Lagavulin paired with a smoky cheese may sound like way too much smoke but it is a match made in tastebud-heaven. If there is one cheese & whisky pairing I would recommend trying, it’s the smoke and smoke.
Wensleydale Cranberry Cheese
I would personally prefer a sweeter-styled cheese like this cranberry version with a quite dry whisky so it doesn’t become too much sweetness. A wine finished whisky, like Skördetid or the Glen Moray Chardonnay, with sweet cheese for me is the perfect combination of rich dryness and lingering sweetness. Definitely a good dessert treat.
Brie
This classic French cheese that can be both overwhelmingly flavourful and also quite mellow, depending on how long it has been matured, goes really well with a fruitier port matured whisky. Since it is French I couldn’t resist trying it with the cognac-finished Brenne as well and even though it might sound like a weird match with foam bananas and cheese, it works surprisingly well!
Blue cheese
This is such a powerful cheese with lots of flavour which means you might need something strong to match it. Either you could go smoky with this one as well and see the creaminess of the cheese melt together with the lovely burning smoke or a rich bourbon but out could also go with the spiciness of a cask strength sherried whisky. Perhaps Glenlivet Nadurra Oloroso, Aberlour A’bunadh or Glenfarclas 105 could be a good match.
Another good thing to keep in mind with a whisky & cheese pairing is that you can also include snacks. Nuts, fruit, crackers and crisps can be great companions to a pairing. My recommendation would be to not use flavours that might overpower the cheese and the whisky, if you want to keep these in focus. Lightly salted crisps won’t spoil the taste buds too much for example, but smoky nuts could go really well with smoked cheese and peated whisky so snacks could also complement the tasting.
And don’t forget the water! Water is great for clearing your palate in-between whiskies but it will also rehydrate you, because whisky is alcohol after all and let’s all be responsible drinkers.
Finally I’d like to point out that pairing whisky with food such as cheese is also very much up to what every individual prefers. Even though this is my guide to how I pair cheese with whisky, you definitely don't have to agree with me. Every palate is different, and if I had access to every whisky on the planet this guide might’ve looked different. Even if I wrote this guide tomorrow I could’ve changed my mind since your preference of whisky, and also cheese, can change depending on mood, situation and company. In the end it is all about combining flavours that might go well together.
Let me know what your favourite pairings might be!
Moa
xx
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