Whisky and Camembert Cheese Pairing

I 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

Ballantine’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

The 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

A 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

I 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?

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