The Gourmet Cheese of the Month Club sends artisan cheese from around the world. Each handcrafted cheese is professionally chosen and purchased directly from its place of origin. Shipments include three kinds of cheese (including at least one international variety per shipment) totaling approximately 1.5 pounds.
The Gourmet Cheese of the Month Club is one of the many subscriptions available through MonthlyClubs.com. They also offer monthly clubs for beer, wine, chocolate, cigars, and flowers. If more than one club appeals, subscribers are welcome to design their own club.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription: The Gourmet Cheese of the Month Club
The Products: Three ½ pound blocks of hand-cut cheese.
The Cost: $34.95 + $13 shipping.
Ships to: All US states EXCEPT AK and HI.
Check out the Food Subscription Box Directory for more food subscription boxes!
The Gourmet Cheese of the Month Club includes a flyer that provides information about the month’s cheeses. The flyer also includes tasting notes and recommended wine and beer pairings.
The cheese was packed very carefully in a Styrofoam cooler with an ice packet. There were also quite a few stickers on the box informing the delivery driver that the contents were perishable and that the box should never be left in direct sunlight.
Drunken Goat (approximately .5 lb)- value $11
Drunken Goat is a semi-firm cheese from Murcia, Spain. It’s cured for about 72 hours in red wine, which causes the rind to form a purple hue and the cheese to take on a delicate grape flavor. I love the creaminess of the Drunken Goat, and I think the understated wine flavor is really interesting.
Grafton Village Maple Smoked Cheddar (approximately .5 lb)- value $10
To create this Maple Smoked Cheddar, Vermont’s Grafton Village cold-smokes their cheddar over smoldering Maplewood chips for up to four hours. This cheese lacks the bitterness often associated with aged cheddars and is instead sweet, smoky, and smooth.
Fontina Val D'Aosta (approximately .5 lb)- value $11
According to the flyer, Fontina is an often-imitated cheese. Fontal, Fontinella, and Fontella are all brand name Fontina look-alikes that lack the consistent flavors found in authentic Italian Fontina. True Fontina has a nutty, earthy flavor and works well as a desert cheese. It is also frequently used in cooking. A famous Fontina dish is Fonduta, an Italian version of fondue made with butter, eggs, and truffles. Personally, I love using Fontina in homemade macaroni and cheese. The creaminess and complex flavor add a sophisticated twist to the classic dish, I think.
Here’s a photo of all three cheeses together on my cheese board (taken right before we started the tasting).
Verdict: I really like the cheeses selected by The Gourmet Cheese of the Month Club. It’s very clear that they were thoughtfully selected, and I appreciate that they were so carefully packed. I also love that the club provides thorough information about where the cheeses are from and why they were selected. The price of the cheese pretty much breaks even with the cost of the box (pre-shipping), but I think the real value of this subscription comes from the expert selection of rare cheeses and the convenience of having them shipped directly to your door. I enjoyed sampling this box, and I would recommend it for cheese lovers who want to try artisan cheeses from around the world.
Do you love discovering new cheeses? Are you going to try The Gourmet Cheese of the Month Club?
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