While down in Gramercy earlier today, I thought I'd pay a visit to one of my favorite cheese shops that I've written about -- Beecher's. I always like to see what they have in their cases to see if there's anything new that I might not know about and today I discovered Black Sheep Creamery's Tin Willow Tomme hailing from Chehalis, Washington. This firm aged sheep's milk tomme was just calling my name, I had to try it.
Crafted actually with the milk from Tin Willow Farm in Lexington, Oregon as Black Sheep has expanded more rapidly than they have had the milk and the capacity to keep up with utilizing the milk of their own flock, this is an excellent example of creameries working together over the shared love of cheese and cheese production. The result is a fabulously grassy, somewhat herbaceous and earthy, crisp citrusy dry firm tomme. A brilliant window into the region's terroir, this cheese is full of delicate nuances, It is a cheese to savor with a nice glass of Washington State Syrah.
Definitely glad I tried it and will be hopefully exploring Black Sheep's other cheeses as well in the near future!
