Wales' Gorwydd Caerphilly and Ireland's Ardrahan

Gorwydd Caerphilly
This unpasteurized cow's milk cheese is handmade on Gorwydd Farm outside of Llandewi Brefi, Wales. I garnered this information from the London buyer and seller of fine cheeses Neals Yard Dairy. Wonderful photos of the farm and the Trethowan family making the cheese can be found at the link above. A strong earthy odor emanates from the rind. It smells mostly like mushrooms, but on the underside of the cheese where the rind is not as thick one can detect some lighter citrus elements. It tastes rich and earthy near the rind, but becomes much lighter in texture and taste in the middle of the cheese. The lighter part of the cheese almost has that squeaky dry curd quality. It's slightly acidic and fruity and all I can think about is eating it with figs and then taking a nap.




Ardrahan
This is an Irish washed rind cows milk cheese. Handmade by Mary Burns near Kanturk, Co Cork, Ireland (this info also taken from Neals Yard Dairy). The Ardrahan literally stinks! It has a lighter pungency than I thought it might, less ammonia smelling and more sweet. The texture is as it looks in the picture. Soft and ripe around the edges and crumbly and bright near the center. The Ardrahan is not scary at all. A full bite tastes like an extra bitter Hefeweisen beer. It's smooth as it goes down and has that fermentation that clears the tongue of the milk and lingers for a couple of minutes. It's a great experience.