Ilchester Glenphilly

During my holiday in Sweden, I was both surprised and excited when my dear host proudly announced that they had purchased a cheese which should be to my liking for two reasons. The first was that the cheese in question is a Cheddar, a British favorite, and the second that it was not merely any old Cheddar but in fact a Whisky cheddar. They also believed the cheese to be Swedish and in fact local, as they bought it from a local fishmonger (of all places to buy cheese!) but as the investigative person I am, I couldn’t just accept that fact without doing a bit of searching. As it turns out it is in fact, and somewhat disappointingly I must add, English.

The name of the cheese in question is Glenphilly, and it is produced by the Somerset based cheese specialists Ilchester Cheese ltd. Now, while this is the first cheese related post on the website, Glenphilly is not the first whisky cheese I have had – far from it. What surprised me, though, was the creaminess of this cheese, in combination with its deliciously well-rounded flavors. My prior encounters with whisky cheese had led me to believe that there is an unavoidable trade-off between full flavor and creaminess, meaning that the tastier the cheddar is, the crumblier is must be. Well, that theory has now been shattered.

With Glenphilly, Ilchester have managed to combine the full flavor of well matured British cheddar with the creaminess of a much younger product. Add to that a hint of whisky – unfortunately I cannot find out which one – and the result is astounding. Ilchester themselves provide only one recommended use in their product profile and that is “cheeseboard”. While I would gladly allow this on most of my boards, I would be more likely to go for a slightly more aggressive whisky cheddar for that particular use. The rare beauty of this cheddar, you see, is that it can be used on a more daily basis (if you can afford it!), as a delicious sandwich topping or even in a cheese sauce.

Treat yourself to this cheddar, you won’t regret it.