When a new cheese arrives, it’s always exciting - a new friend to meet! We taste it as a team and everyone usually likes the newbie - some love it, but it is rare that ALL of us go wild for it. Well, this rarity occurred when Malloy entered our shop. It is a soft washed-rind goat’s milk cheese from Westfield, Vermont and it had us swooning.

Rebecca Valazquez, Merlin Backus, and their herd of 47 goats created this lovely little wheel. Rebecca and Merlin moved to Vermont from NYC in 2013, buying a piece of land that happened to have a barn already on it but no house for them to live in, inspiring the name of their future creamery, Barn First Creamery. They started their goat herd with a few animals from two famous goat cheese producers in Vermont, Lazy Lady Farm and Twig Farm, so they knew they had high quality dairy goats. After years of building their own barn, milking parlor, and cheesemaking facility, they expanded the herd to 47 goats and started making seven types of goat cheese.

The fantastic Malloy, named, like all their cheeses, for the maiden names of ancestors, is washed in brine and aged for about a month before it reaches our shop. Although the sticky orange rind makes it look like Malloy is going to be a stanky one, it is actually quite approachable - perfect for goat cheese lovers and goat cheese skeptics alike! The rind has a pleasant grassiness and the smooth paste, split by a line of ash, has a slight tang and the toasty, yeasty, slight sweetness of a fresh biscuit. The flavor finishes quite savory like grilled lamb and cured meats with a touch of vegetable broth. Ready to join the Malloy love fest yet?!? Pair it with seeded crackers and pickles, melt it over a burger or into polenta, or enjoy it on slices of that hearty rustic boule you just picked up at the farmers’ market.

For the love of cheese and extra special newcomers,

Kiri

Malloy, Matey!

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