The Type Of Cheese That Pairs Best With A Classic Gin And Tonic, According To An Expert

The first thing most people think about when it comes to cheese pairing is a bottle of wine or maybe a craft beer. But when you really think about it, aren't there always a few hunks of cheese and a couple of crackers laid out for nibbling at any cocktail hour? Just because wine and cheese play well together doesn't mean spirits should be left out of the fun, especially if you're planning to serve up a batch of gin and tonics at your next gathering. A G&T is light and refreshing on so many occasions, and with only two or three base ingredients, it's super easy to make. This quintessential cocktail tastes even better when served with a few slices of nutty-tasting, aged sheep cheese, according to Matthew Rose, a partner at Fairfield and Greenwich Cheese Company in Connecticut.

"A classic Gin and Tonic is a fantastic pairing for something firmer and denser like a firm sheep's milk cheese like Ossau Iraty or Manchego," said Rose. The perfect gin and tonic recipe could not be any simpler. All you need is some top-shelf gin and a bottle of decent tonic to get the job done. But there are steps you can take to elevate the experience, like pre-chilling the gin and properly layering the cocktail in the glass. The key to choosing the right cheese is to find something that complements the cocktail's signature piney, juniper flavors.

Gin's unique flavor profile and tonic's bracing bitter qualities, according to Rose, should point your pairing palate towards medium-bodied cheeses with some herbal, grassy qualities. His first suggestion, Manchego, is a semi-hard sheep's milk cheese from the famed La Mancha region of Spain, located southeast of Madrid. It has a pale yellow texture and is readily available in the U.S., even at some grocery stores like Aldi. Most of the Manchego you'll find in the States has been aged, but there are a few fresh examples that make it overseas from time to time, so be sure to double-check the label; you want that nutty, rich flavor in the cheese that only comes from aging. Manchego is great with a classic gin and tonic, but it would also work well with an Italian version of the drink, which adds a few drops of Mulassano Bitter.

The other option in the sheep's cheese category is Ossau Iraty, which comes from the French Basque country on the border of Spain in the Pyrénées. It's named for the two rivers that run through the region, the Ossau, and the Iraty, and it is also a semi-firm sheep's milk cheese like Manchego. The cheese has a little bit of a different flavor profile than its Spanish counterpart and features more of a sweet flavor with notes of olives — which makes it a perfect match with a gin cocktail.