St John's Cheese Tasting

My college, St. John's, has been propagating a string of tastings this year, and I have definitely been a big fan of it. A few weeks ago, we had a tea tasting with a Cambridge graduate who returned to open a tea shop carrying teas from all over the world. It was definitely a first for me, and I enjoyed it very much.

Tonight, we had a cheese tasting of 5 cheeses made by small local regional English farms:

1. Sharpham Rustic (South Devon) -- Made from Jersey cows and aged for 6-8 weeks. It's a very creamy, soft, and mild-flavored Brie that spread almost like butter. I didn't taste much of the metallickiness that I find in many mass-produced Brie, although it did have a slight bitter aftertaste.
2. Golden Cross (East Sussex) -- Made from goat's milk and matured for 4 weeks. Soft, more creamy than crumbly goat's cheese rolled in ash. It tasted almost like eating lamb. Unique and delightful
3. Wigmore (Risley Berkshire) -- Made from sheep's milk and aged for 2 months. Semi-soft with very very mild flavor.
4. Lincolnshire Poacher (Alford) -- Cheddar cheese aged for 12 month. Definitely has a sharp matured flavor with an oaky taste.
5. Suffolk Blue (Suffolk) -- Made from Guernsey cows. Very mild for a blue cheese without the characteristic sharp mold flavor and saltiness.
   

In addition to the cheeses, we had Miller's Damsels, wafer thin biscuits with a deep wheat flavor that dissipated finely and added a hearty richness to the cheeses. We also had a nice sharp Bramley apple juice made from Cheshire.

Overall, the evening was much more fancy than expected and extremely enjoyable. I absolutely loved the Golden Cross; and the Sharpham Rustic went lovely with the biscuits. Seriously, we are so spoiled at John's!!