After extensive taste-testing of meads and cheese together, I have drafted an exhaustive (OK partial) list of the best pairings of Kinsale Mead and Irish Cheese. This took a lot of cheese eating and mead drinking so I hope you appreciate the sacrifices I made to put this list together.
What are your favourite Irish cheeses?
St Tola Goat’s cheese from Co. Clare – Smooth and creamy, with honey undertones. (Original or Greek style)
Pair with Atlantic Dry Mead
Young Buck Blue Cheese, Co Down – A Northern Irish blue cheese with that classic blue cheese spiciness.
Also Crozier Blue, Co Tipperary
Pair with Hazy Summer Mead
Ardsallagh Goat Cheese, Co. Cork – Creamy, Fresh and Tangy.
Also Leitrim Hill Goats Cheese, Co Leitrim
Pair with Atlantic Dry Mead
Carrigaline Cheese -Beech Smoked, Co. Cork – Mild and Buttery with a distinctive tang.
or Smoked Gubbeen, Co Cork – The oak smoke adds a great meaty flavour to the creamy, buttery, earthy Gubbeen
Pair with Dark Forest Honey Mead
Coolatin Mature Cheddar, Co, Wicklow – outrageously good, crumbly cheddar.
or Lidl Extra Mature Cheddar or the one from Centra is great too
Pair with Wild Red Mead
Hegarty Cheddar, Co Cork – Earthy cheddar bite, bittery saltiness & good length. Frequently nutty and relatively mild but still with that essential cheddar tang
Pair with Wild Red Mead- Merlot Barrel Aged
Coolea Gouda, Co Cork – Sweet & Savoury flavour, going to toffee & caramel when matured
or Killeen Goat, Co Galway – a dense creamy paste, and toasty hay and caramel notes
Pair with Dark Forest Honey Mead
Milleens, Co. Cork – Smooth and Creamy taste, Earthy, mushroom farmyard. Bold pungent. Intense and mineral texture
or Corleggy Cavanbert, Co Cavan – a rich, creamy paste that becomes more elastic as it ripens. It shows gentle lactic tang
Pair with Hazy Summer Mead
Hegarty Templegall, Co Cork – Sweet and nutty flavour. Very Smooth texture
or Dubliner Cheddar, Co Cork (yes!)
Pair with Wildflower Irish Mead