Pairing bourbon (or any spirit) with cheese is tricky. The high alcohol content of liquor can overpower many cheeses; that burn demands a texture that can withstand the hit. This is the first reason I reach for aged cheeses 9 out of 10 times when I’m pairing with bourbon. Aged cheeses are firm to dry and texture. They have much less water than creamy cheeses like Brie. As a result, each crumble is all fat and protein and that absorbs the sting. There are other reasons to go aged. With time, cheeses like Cheddar, Swiss, and Parmesan develop toasty, nutty, woody and caramelly notes, all of which complement the basic flavor profile of bourbon.
If I had to pick a single cheese to pair with any bourbon it would be Aged Gouda. The cheese has a waxy, almost crayon-like texture and the signature tasting notes read like bourbon placard: vanilla, toast, and butterscotch with a delicate, spicy finish.
I’m not saying you can’t pair bourbon with a blue or fresh goat cheese, but it’s harder to get a great pairing. Just as bourbons have a wide range of nuance within a single style of liquor, aged cheeses give you an incredible range of flavor possibilities. It won’t be boring or repetitive—it will be reliably delicious.
Elijah Craig
Smoked cheeses (Smoked Gouda, Smoked Cheddar); if you can find the smoked goat cheese Up in Smoke, do it
Just as a few drops of water in Elijah Craig opens up its smoky notes, a piece of smoked cheese pushes them to the fore as well. Smoked cheeses are more straightforward in flavor and do better with a bourbon that isn’t about wildly complex flavor layers.
Knob Creek
Mellow blue like Bayley Hazen Blue, Stilton, Point Reyes Bay Blue, Fourme d’Ambert
While I often reach for aged cheeses it’s possible to have a brilliant blue/bourbon combo. The trick is a rich bourbon with lots of brown sugar and caramel, and a blue that’s creamy and mellow rather than crumbly and spicy. It’s my upgrade on the traditional blue cheese and dessert wine pairing.
Woodford Reserve
Aged sheep cheeses like Manchego or Ossau Iraty
Citrus notes and an ethanol hit on the nose make Woodford feel like a knife primed to cut the super fat of sheep milk cheeses. Macademia nut, coconut and caramel undertones cushion a bourbon that drinks lighter than its 90 proof.
Eagle Rare
Aged Gouda like Reypenaer or Beemster
Truly, this cheese would work with any bourbon. I like Elijah Craig because its honey and sweet palate actually drive forward flavors in the cheese beyond butterscotch. The bourbon forces you to acknowledge the complexity of Aged Gouda beyond being “cheese candy”.
Maker’s Mark
Sweeter Cheddar like Beecher’s Flagship, Milton Creamery, Sartori Montamore
When I say “sweeter cheddar” I mean a new class of Cheddars whose flavor isn’t about being sharp. Instead, these cheddars are crafted to have flavors of stone fruit, buttered toast and butterscotch as opposed to an old fashioned hit of lemony acidity. That said, they’re still cheddars and they have a backbone of acidity that balances the big blast of sweetness you get from this wheated bourbon.
Bulleit 10 Year
Parmigiano-Reggiano
The spicy bite and woody notes of Bulleit make it the perfect bedfellow for Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano. Real, imported Parm Reg is surprisingly acidic with fermented fruit flavors in addition to more predictable toasted nut notes. Here, the spice of the bourbon and the acid of the cheese meet and recede so you get more vanilla and leather from the bourbon.
Buffalo Trace
Alpine cheeses like Gruyere, Grand Cru (Reserve), Pleasant Ridge Reserve, Thistle Hill Tarentaise
If Bulleit and Parm Reg are about putting spicier notes together so they recede, Buffalo Trace and Gruyere is about putting sweeter notes together so they deepen and linger. The palate on this bourbon may be too sweet for some but for most it what makes Buffalo Trace so drinkable. The sweet (low acid/lower salt) flavor profile of Alpine cheeses is what makes them so easy to love, coupled with roasted nut and chocolate notes. Together you get the s’mores of bourbon and cheese.