Meandering the world, one whisky at a time

Category: Whisky & Cheese

Whisky and Camembert Cheese Pairing

Whisky and camembert cheese pairing headerI love my regular whisky and cheese pairing sessions. It usually takes place on a Saturday afternoon, and I try a broad range of whiskies with interesting cheeses. Many of the whiskies in my collection are limited editions and not readily available, and this makes our tastings exciting but also challenging.

To allow more people to try these pairings, I also try to find a whisky and cheese pairing readily available in South Africa. This past week we bought a Fairview Camembert cheese.

Fairview traditionally was a wine farm in the Paarl area in the Western Cape. After a trip to France, the owners fell in love with the creamy flavoured cheese produced on the wine farms. Upon their returning, they began investigating the possibility of starting their own cheesery. Fairview has won many international and local awards for its cheeses.

Camembert is a popular cheese in South Africa and a frequent addition to cheese boards. This Camembert cheese is made according to a traditional recipe. Camembert is a soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow’s milk cheese. It was first made in the late 18th century at Camembert, Normandy, in northern France.




Fresh Camembert cheese is bland, hard and crumbly in texture. As the cheese matures, it forms a smooth, runny interior and a white bloomy rind. The cheese ripens from the outside towards the centre. It has a rich buttery mushroom flavour. A fungus, called penicillium candidum, is responsible for turning the rind bloomy white.

It was not an easy cheese to pair. I tried many different combinations before finding a few whisky pairings that worked. In the end, I found 3 pairings I truly liked.

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Whisky and Camembert Cheese Pairing

Ballantine’s Finest Whisky

Whisky and Camembert cheese pairing Ballantine's finest whiskyBallantine’s Finest whisky has quickly become one of my favourite blended whiskies. This whisky is smooth and filled with notes of Christmas cake, dried fruit, peat and muscovado sugar. Paired with the Fairview Camembert cheese it makes an amazing (and affordable) combination.

Both the whisky and Camembert cheese become smoother and richer. The richness of the Camembert cheese enhances the delicious complexity of the Ballantine’s whisky and works well with the floral notes. The Ballantine’s whisky cut through the buttery richness of the Camembert cheese, and makes it more decadent. I give this pairing a Rating: 4/5.

Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky

Whisky and Camembert cheese pairing Bains whiskyThe James Sedgwick Distillery in Wellington is not too far from Paarl where Fairview is situated. I had to try a Western Cape cheese with a Western Cape whisky, and this pairing surprised me. My tasting notes for the Bain’s whisky included sweet hints of toffee, banana and vanilla. There were cloves and cinnamon with bits of oak intermingling with treacle notes.

Again an affordable pairing which surprised me. The sweetness and spice of the Bain’s whisky enhanced the Camembert cheese’s earthy notes. The richness of the cheese softens with the Bain’s, and you want to try the combination again and again. I give this pairing a Rating: 4/5.

Balvenie Caribbean Cask Whisky

Whisky and Camembert cheese pairing Balvenie 14 yo caribbean Cask whiskyA bit of desktop research indicated that Balvenie whisky might pair well with a piece of Camembert cheese. I decided to try the Balvenie Caribbean Cask whisky. It is part of the Balvenie core range and readily available. The official tasting notes for this dram include rich tropical fruits and creamy toffee. Sweet vanilla, apples and sweet oak notes.

Again, what a great combination. The creaminess of the cheese enhances the complexity of the Balvenie Caribbean Cask whisky. The mushroom notes enrich the notes of fruit, spice and wood. The Balvenie Caribbean Cask makes the Camembert milkier and cuts through some of the richness. This pairing gets a Rating: 4/5.

Glenfiddich 12 year old Whisky

Whisky and Camembert cheese pairing glenfiddich 12 yoI also tried the Fairview Camembert with the Glenfiddich 12 year old whisky. My tasting notes for the Glenfiddich 12 year old is captured here. This pairing was not as good as the ones listed above. I gave this a Rating 3/5.

As part of the experiment, I also tried this Fairview Camembert cheese with a Singleton 12 year old whisky, the Three Ships 5 year old and a Glenfarclas 12 year old whisky. None of these combinations worked well. They all get a Rating: 1/5.

What is your favourite whisky to pair with Camembert cheese?

Also Read: Peaty whisky and blue cheese



Highland Whisky and Gouda Cheese with Cumin Pairing

Whisky and Gouda cheese pairingAbout two weeks ago, I blogged about a mature Gouda and Highland whisky pairing. I tried the mature Gouda cheese with various Highland whiskies as well as with a Dutch whisky. The 8 year old Millstone French Oak whisky was a great companion to the mature Gouda.

To my surprise, the Tomatin 12 year old single malt whisky also made a good pairing. Besides the mature Gouda, I also picked up a Gouda with cumin cheese from the Gestam range at Checkers Cheese World. I wanted to try a whisky and Gouda cheese with cumin pairing.

Also Read: How to make Sangria

I decided to try the Gouda with cumin cheese with the same Highland whiskies to see if the results would be similar. The Gouda with cumin is a young cheese only aged for about four weeks and flavoured with whole cumin seeds.

This Gouda cheese had a rich butter taste spiced with whole cumin seeds. Cumin adds an earthy and warming feeling and has a nutty flavour. As this Gouda was not aged, it did not have the small crystals and stronger aroma that the mature Gouda had.




Millstone French Oak Whisky and Gouda with Cumin Cheese

Millstone French Oak Whisky & Gouda cheese with Cumin Pairing Whisky and GoudaFirst, I tried it with the Millstone French Oak whisky. My tasting notes included woody spices with subtle notes of fresh flowers, hints of cinnamon, cloves, ginger and barley. There was some biscuit sweetness in the background.  This Dutch whisky and Gouda with cumin pairing was wonderful.

The Gouda cheese made the Millstone whisky sweeter, and the whisky sweetness balanced the spicy cumin. The 8 yo made the Gouda creamy smooth, and it was a great pairing. I gave this Millstone French Oak whisky and Gouda pairing a RATING: 4/5.

Macallan 15 yo Whisky and Gouda Cheese with Cumin

Macallan 15 yo Whisky & Gouda with Cumin cheese Pairing Whisky and GoudaNext up was the Macallan 15 year old whisky. My tasting notes for the Macallan included notes of oak, rich fruit, floral notes, vanilla sweetness and a medium finish. The Macallan 15 single malt Scotch has a nice body, and I gave it a Rating: Excellent. When I tried it with the mature Gouda, it was not the best pairing.

However, this Macallan 15 yo whisky and Gouda cheese with cumin pairing worked wonderfully. The spices and the creaminess in the younger Gouda cheese brought out more oak and fruity notes in the whisky. The Macallan whisky enriched the Gouda and made it even more creamy and delicious. I gave this whisky and Gouda cheese pairing a RATING: 4/5.

What did not work

I also tried the Gouda with cumin pairing with the Tomatin 12 year old whisky. The Tomatin worked magic with the more mature Gouda, but with the younger cheese, it was nothing spectacular. I gave it a Rating: 3/5.

I tried the Gouda with Cumin with the  Highland Park 18 year old and the Glendronach 16 year old. This pairing did not work at all. I gave it a Rating: 1/5. You tasted whisky; you tasted cheese; there was no interaction or enriching of the whisky and Gouda.

It was interesting to try both the mature and the younger Gouda cheese with the Highland whiskies. The combinations gave me  wonderful inspiration for a cheeseboard.

Related Article: Whisky and Brie pairing

Whisky and Mature Gouda Cheese Pairings

Mature Gouda Cheese and whisky pairing headerLast week I wandered past our local Checkers Cheese World and grabbed some imported Gestam mature Gouda cheese. They had the Gestam Gouda with Cumin as well, and this also got dropped into my shopping basket. Naturally, my mind wandered to a whisky and mature Gouda cheese pairing.

Gouda is a Dutch yellow cheese made from cow’s milk. It is named after the city of Gouda in the Netherlands. It is one of the most popular cheeses worldwide. There is mention of Gouda cheese in a historical document dating back to 1184.

This makes it one of the oldest recorded cheeses in the world, still made today. Mature Gouda is generally aged between 16–18 weeks. As it ages, it develops a caramel sweetness and has a slight crunchiness from cheese crystals. It is a semi-hard cheese with a rich, unique flavour and smooth texture.

Gouda cheese is typically made from pasteurised cow’s milk. It is creamy, full-flavoured, nutty and sweet. It has a dense compact texture. The Gouda from Gestam was buttery creamy, rich and mild with notes of nuts and small crystals.

Desktop research showed that Highland single malts might pair nicely with this mature Gouda. So I picked a few of Highland whiskies from our collection to test this whisky and mature Gouda cheese pairing.

I also chose a whisky from the Netherlands. Of course, I had to pair Dutch whisky with Dutch cheese too. What grows together goes together.

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Millstone French Oak Whisky and Mature Gouda Cheese

Millstone French Oak & Mature Gouda PairingFirstly I had to try the Checkers mature Gouda cheese with my Dutch Millstone French Oak whisky. I have a theory that whisky made in a country will match food traditional to that country.

My tasting notes for this 8 year old included woody spices with subtle notes of fresh flowers, hints of cinnamon, cloves, ginger and barley. Some biscuit sweetness in the background. I rated this Dutch whisky as Very Good.

The Millstone pair wonderful with the mature Gouda cheese. The cheese brings out bits of smoke and more spicy notes in the Millstone. The Millstone made the creaminess of the Gouda stand out, and together it created a delicious pairing. I give the Millstone French Oak whisky and mature Gouda cheese  pairing a Rating 4/5.

Highland Park 18 yo Whisky and Mature Gouda Cheese

Highland Park 18 yo & Mature Gouda PairingNext up was the Highland Park 18 year old single malt Scotch whisky. I can’t seem to find a Highland Park expression I like. I rated this Highland Park as Very Good. My tasting notes included honey, toffee and sweetness mixed with oak, notes of butterscotch and barley. This Highland Park and Gouda cheese pairing was quite surprising. I did not expect much from this combination, but together they made a great pairing.

The Highland Park brought out more sweetness in the mature Gouda cheese and cuts through the creaminess. The Gouda made the Highland Park whisky drinkable and brought out smoke and peat. It smoothed out the whisky, making me want a second glass.  I give this pairing a Rating 3/5.

Tomatin 12 yo Whisky and Gouda Cheese Pairing

Tomatin 12 yo whisky & Mature Gouda Pairing
Last up was the Tomatin 12 year old whisky. My tasting notes included notes of dried fruit, sherry, smoke, crystallized ginger, and barley. I felt the whisky was a little rough around the edges and gave it a ‘Very Good.’ rating This was the biggest surprise. The Tomatin single malt Scotch whisky and Gouda pairing was wonderful. The mature Gouda smoothed out the Tomatin and enhanced the finish.

It made the whisky more intense and rich. The Tomatin brought out more nuttiness in the mature Gouda, and as a pairing, it worked brilliantly. I give the Tomatin whisky and mature Gouda cheese pairing a Rating: 4/5.

I also tried the mature Gouda from Chechers with a Glendronach 16 year old whisky, but it did not work at all. The two elements did not combine well. The sweetness in the Glendronach  overpowered the Gouda a bit. I gave it a rating 1/5.

Have you tried a whisky and Mature Gouda cheese pairing?  What did you think?

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Jura Whisky and Comté Cheese

whisky and Comté cheese header Jura whisky and cheeseI was quite intrigued when I found a Comté Cheese at Woolworths some time ago. It is not a cheese that I have seen before, and I naturally had to buy it to see how it would pair with whisky.

Comté cheese (also called Gruyère de Comté) is a semi-hard French cheese produced in France’s Jura Massif region. The unpasteurized cow’s milk used is mainly from Montbeliarde Cattle or French Simmental cattle (or crossbreeds of the two).

This hard mountain cheese is matured in the silence and darkness of special caves where the cheese gets its unique taste, texture and colour. The texture is relatively dense and firm. The taste is strong and slightly sweet.

Comte cheese has a pale yellow interior with a nutty aroma. The main aromatic flavours that linger on the palate is a balance of brown-butter and roasted-nut aromas and a sweet finish. Noticing that the cheese is from the Jura region in France made me, on a whim, take out our Jura 10 year old Origin single malt Scotch whisky.

The Jura 10 year old Origin Whisky

I had no real expectation that this whisky and Comté cheese pairing would work. For me, the idea that the region and the distillery coincided was interesting. I tasted the Jura whisky during 2014 and gave it a rating of Very Good.

Jura 10 yo Origin whisky and Comté Cheese pairingThe island of Jura is located so close to the island of Islay and the ‘Parish of Peat’ that the distillery often participates in the annual ‘Feis Ile’ whisky festival of the Islay distilleries. However, the Jura 10 year old single malt whisky flavours are different from the peaty whiskies from the neighbouring island of Islay.

It is a medium-bodied whisky and regarded as an accessible, easy-drinking whisky. My tasting notes captured apricots and flowers on the nose. On the palate, I picked up apricots, raisins and a little oak.  There are hints of mild spice and citrus.

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Jura 10 year old Whisky and Comté Cheese Pairing

Jura 10 yo Origin whisky and Comté Cheese pairingMuch to my surprise, this pairing of a Jura whisky and Comté cheese worked surprisingly well. This smooth cheese brought out more malty cereal notes in the Jura whisky and heightened the saltiness. The fruity flavours became more pronounced, and more spice notes came through.

The Jura whisky is medium-bodied enough to stand up to this nutty, fruity cheese and not overpower it. The whisky brought out more smoky and sweet notes in the Comté cheese. I give the Jura Origin whisky and Comté Cheese a RATING: EXCELLENT.

A great combination  I will try again in future. Have you tried this interesting cheese?

Also Read: Whisky and Mature Gouda pairing

Laphroaig Whisky and Stilton Cheese Pairing

Laphroaig whisky and stilton cheese pairing Whisky and Stilton cheese pairing is something that I see coming past my social media feed regularly, and I decided to try it.  So this past weekend, John bought a wedge of Blue Stilton cheese, his favourite cheese, from Checkers, who have a wide variety of unique cheeses.

I paired it with a Laphroaig 10 year old Cask Strength and tweeted about it. I received such a positive response to the tweet that I decided to write a post about this fantastic whisky and cheese pairing. Traditionally people eat Stilton at Christmas, pared with pears and a glass of port.

I found some research recommendations that peaty whisky works very well paired with either Roquefort cheese or Blue Stilton. Stilton cheese is an English cheese produced in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire and made according to a code that goes back to 1730.




The renowned Blue cheese is known for its pungent smell and taste. Both Blue and White Stilton cheeses are granted protected status, meaning that only cheeses produced in these three counties can carry the name Stilton.

As a result, the town bearing its name can not make Stilton! It takes 78 litres of milk to make 8 kg of Stilton cheese, and the blue veins running through the cheese are its most distinctive feature.

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Laphroaig Whisky and Cheese Pairing

Laphroaig whisky and stilton cheese pairing
The Laphroaig 10 year old single malt whisky is a pretty unique whisky in my collection. The ABV is an impressive 55.7%. A big whisky in the best Laphroaig tradition. Bold peat flavour, followed by smoke, iodine and seaweed. The Laphroaig single malt Scotch matched the Blue Stilton brilliantly.

In terms of the whisky and Stilton cheese pairing, the strong taste of the Stilton complements the smoke and peat of the Laphroaig. In addition, it brings out the creamy, buttery flavour of the cheese in a remarkable way.

I give this Laphroaig 10 yo whisky and Stilton cheese pairing a RATING: DIVINE. I was interested to understand why this whisky and cheese pairing works so well. Research indicates that when the main volatile molecules of the two foods are the same, they should work well together.

There is also an element of balance between the astringency of the two foods that make them fit. It is probably why these two work so well together. A perfect pairing. The best I have ever tried.  

Other delicious whisky cheese pairings to try:

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