Quick take: pair a Rum Old Fashioned cocktail with a Trou de Cru cheese
In our cheese + cocktail pairing project, I combine my cocktail know-how with the encyclopedic cheese knowledge of Jennifer Greco of Chez Loulou for a series of classic cocktail and cheese pairings.
As summer is making way for autumn, we’re looking at drinks to warm us up as the weather cools down, like the classic Old Fashioned made with rum.
September Pairing: Rum Old Fashioned cocktail with Trou de Cru cheese
Tips, Tricks & Lessons learned:
- We chose the Trou de cru cheese as the best pairing for the Rum Old Fashioned because it brought the most to the table, offered up a nice mouthfeel and left a long and pleasant spicy finish.
- In addition to the Trou de Cru, the following cheeses also work in a pairing: Vieille Mimolette (nice savory element to the pairing) and Fourme d’Ambert (great salty, savory and buttery). Additionally, 2 year Comté and Crottin de Chavignol can work with it.
- Cheeses that brought nothing to the table or made for a bad pairing included: Ossau Iraty, Brillat-Savarin, and Saint-Marcellin.
- We went with Plantation 5 Year for a good combination of availability, quality and price. But if you want to take it up a level try something even fancier. The good thing about the Old Fashioned is you can use such a wide range of spirits. For this pairing stick with a Barbadian style rum like the Plantation 5 Year. Otherwise, test out different cheeses that pair up with your preferred rum.
- The Old Fashioned is served in a rocks glass over a large chunk of ice. If you don’t have large ice molds, you can freeze a larger block in a plastic container and then break it up into larger pieces.
- Like many seemingly simple cocktails, the Old Fashioned recipe is riddled with opinion and debate. For the sweetner, opinions vary on the type and form of sugar. I use a rich simple syrup with basic white sugar so it dissolves completely (and easily) into the drink with ease. But, use whatever form of sugar works best for you.
- When went garnish free for our Rum Old Fashioneds, but you can use a lemon or orange zest. Play around with what works best with your preferred base spirit.
- For parties or larger groups, I like to batch a larger bottle or pitcher of Old Fashioned and then serve drinks to guests in pretty perfume flacons alongside their glass to pour it over the ice themselves. This is more to add a little fun and show – but the tiny bottles also hold just the right amount of cocktail, so I just fill up the tiny decanter and serve, without having to take extra time to measure (it’s a small amount of time, but when you’re entertaining several people it’s a handy time-saving technique).
Rum Old Fashioned
60 ml rum
5ml simple syrup
several dashes Angostura bitters
Option: orange or lemon zest
Place large ice cube or ball in rocks glass
Pour in rum and syrup
Add 3 or 4 dashes of Angostura bitters
Stir
Optional: Garnish with an orange or lemon zest
If you’re here, I already know you like cocktails. But, if you want to learn more about these or other cheeses, I recommend some time on Jennifer’s blog and Instagram or signing up for one of her cheese workshops with Paris by Mouth.
Up next: What Cheese to Pair with a Martinez cocktail
