Rogue Creamery’s Smokey Blue and Rogue River Blue won 1st Place Gold and 2nd Place Silver respectively at the 32nd Annual American Cheese Society Competition and Judging. The largest cheese competition in North America was held in Providence RI; the competition featured 1,779 entries from 267 producers. At the awards celebration immediately after the competition, co-owner and president, David Gremmels, exclaimed that “it is affirming to see this American original created in 2004 crowned repeatedly as best blue in the Americas!”
Smokey Blue: In addition to Smokey Blue’s 1st Place finish at the 2015 ACS Competition and Judging; it placed 2nd at the 2015 US Cheese Championships. Smokey Blue has also taken home Best American Cheese at the World Cheese Awards, 2nd place at the 2013 ACS Competition, 1st place at the ACS in 2009, the Innovation Award at the 2006 SIAL Paris Awards and Outstanding New Product at the 2005 NY Specialty Food Show.A long, gentle cold-smoking over shells from Oregon hazelnuts infuses Rogue Creamery’s Smokey Blue cheese with an added layer of rich flavor and terroir. Sweet cream flavors and caramel notes balance earthy flavors of smoke and hints of roasted nuts. The result is a cakey yet smooth blue cheese reminiscent of candied bacon. Smokey Blue’s sweet, nutty, and savory flavors envelope the sweet, rich milk creating a Crème Brûlée with a hint of the toasted, sweet richness of a campfire.
Rogue River Blue: On top of just winning Silver at ACS in 2015, it also won Gold at the 2015 US Cheese Championships. Rogue River Blue has also won Best American Cheese and Super Gold @ the 2012 World Cheese Awards in London and is a two time winner, 2009 and 2011, of the Best of Show Award @ the American Cheese Society Competition & Judging.Rogue River Blue is produced at the turn of the season, made with late-season milk produced after the autumnal equinox. At this time, the cows graze on grasses renewed by cooler temperatures and make milk that is richer and higher in butterfat due to the advanced stage of the lactation cycle. It is this special milk, reflective of the unique seasonal influences of the Rogue River Valley, which is the very essence of terroir. This is the French concept that well-crafted foods represent a certain special essence of a region: the soil, the climate and the interaction of herd and pasture.
About Rogue Creamery:
Rogue Creamery’s blue cheese is handmade using milk from Brown Swiss and Holstein cows; the milk is certified sustainable by Food Alliance. The cows graze in 1650 foot elevation pastures along the Rogue River, where they eat a variety of grasses, wild herbs, and wild flowers supplemented with grass hay, alfalfa and grain grown on the farm. The five pound (2.2 kg) wheels are made by hand and aged in specially-constructed caves. The creamery also made history in 2007 by becoming the first American exporter of raw milk cheese to the EU; their cheese is carried in Whole Foods Market, Neal’s Yard Dairy, London and Fromagerie Laurent Dubois, Paris.
Source: Rogue Creamery
