Each wheel of Malloy is approximately 13 oz.

In 2013, Rebecca Valazquez and Merlin Backus moved from New York City back to Merlin’s hometown of Westfield, Vermont after a parcel of land went up for sale near his family’s home. At first, Rebecca wasn’t sure what she wanted to do in rural Vermont, so Merlin’s father suggested she work with Laini Fomdiller, a well-known Vermont cheesemaker and owner of Lazy Lady Farm, to learn about cheese care and animal husbandry. Rebecca and Merlin spent the next three years hand milking seven goats they bought from Lazy Lady and another famed Vermont creamery, Twig Farm, while they built a larger barn, milking parlor, and cheesemaking facility. Over time, their herd grew with more high-quality dairy goats from the creameries and today, the couple milk almost fifty goats and Rebecca makes seven types of cheese.

Malloy is a pretty wheel with an orangey yellow washed rind, bright white paste, and a vegetable ash line running through the middle. The rind, although it might look intense, is actually quite mellow and very tasty with a pleasant grassiness. The cheese has a bit of a tang and flavors of biscuits, grilled lamb, cured meats, and vegetable broth, coming together for a savory, complex bite. Bring this cheese to any cookout, barbeque, or picnic because Malloy’s easygoing flavors pair well with a variety of food and drink, try wedges on a seeded cracker with pickles, add it to your next burger, melt it over roasted mushrooms, or just eat wedges off the wheel with a glass of lemony, appley Vermentino.