Amoureux from Baetje Farms

On April 16, 2018April 21, 2018 By Mark BilbreyIn Cheese ReviewsLeave a comment

My cheese counter was lucky enough to land THREE amazing cheeses from Baetje Farms, including a new addition to their line-up called “Amoureux.” I was absolutely stunned by it–an immediate addition to my all-time favorite list. It’s everything you love about aged Manchego with a few sweet and savory bonuses: notes of lemon zest, butter, and fresh grass. The sheepy lanolin and goaty citric flavors complement each other perfectly here. Despite a high price-point, the entire wheel sold in just a few days (which is really fast for a little cheese counter like mine).

One regular cheese customer and fellow turophile tried it and joked that it was so good it made her want to cry. I laughed, but then noticed her eyes were kind of misting over, and then my eyes kind of misted over too because taking that much pleasure in cheese (or anything, really) is a beautiful thing.

amoureux review — (Image: Katharine Azzolini)

Blue Hills Bleu by Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative

On March 3, 2018March 4, 2018 By Mark BilbreyIn Cheese ReviewsLeave a comment

Cascadia Creamery’s Glacier Blue

On February 18, 2018February 21, 2018 By Mark BilbreyIn Cheese ReviewsLeave a comment

I wrote this description of Glacier Blue way back in July for Porter Road Butcher’s “Butcher Block Bulletin,” a regular email update for our customers. Our PR Manager, Kat (who happens to be an extraordinary cheesemonger, too!), made it look real purty. I’ll post these cheese descriptions from the newsletter on this blog, too. As for the cheese itself–I haven’t had it in the shop for a while and need to correct that omission post-haste! I miss it terribly! What a phenomenal, unique domestic blue it is–so complex that I taste something new each time I have a bite. What’s perhaps most marvelous is the toasty smokiness of it, despite having never been exposed to smoke or heat.