The Cranberries Have Nothing on this Cannonball!

We had tried making contact with Capriole for a personal visit but had no luck. So we decided to crash the party! Well not really. We saw on-line that they had a store so we decided to drive on up (actually down.) We got to Capriole in the mid-afternoon in the middle of the most beautiful weather. We had been so lucky this trip with the atmospheric conditions. We drove up the long wooded drive until the road opened up onto the main property where a large and lovely house stood to our left and to our right the cheese making room and store.

We got out of the car and walked toward the store past the cheese making room where 2 ladies were making that day's cheese. We peered in and watched for a bit. They didn't seem to mind our voyeurism. We continued on to the farm store where the walls were covered with accolades and a small board listed all the available cheeses.

We rang the little bell and one of the cheesemakers came to assist us with our choice. There were no descriptions of the cheeses so we definitely need some guidance. We were familiar with a few of them like the Sofia, Pipers Pyramid, Mont St. Francis and the Juliana. So or course we wanted to try something we never had and we always look for something raw first! We inquired about he Old Kentucky Tomme and she agreed that would be a good one to go with. We were also looking for something small since our cheese cave (aka big blue cooler) in the back of the car was meeting its limit! We decided upon the Wabash Cannonball.

Both the cheeses LOOKED great! Enough to stir up a strong anticipation of cutting them open. We dove head first into the Cannonball, a plump little 3oz ball of cheve, very clean, yet earthy and firm paste but not super dense. This Cannonball was on the younger side. It's exterior was only slightly wrinkled with small amounts of ash poking through. Overall, a very pleasing cheese. Darren made a trip to Cowgirl Creamery on the Embarcadero in San Francisco a few days ago and bought another Wabash Cannonball that was aged longer. Its rind more wrinkled, its ash exposing itself almost fully except for its almost snow dusted peaks. Its texture was a bit firmer and flavor fuller. We preferred the the more aged Cannonball as its flavor had matured and was more condensed.

We cut into The Old Kentucky Tomme in Durango, CO with the owners of James Ranch Artisan Cheese. The Tomme was mild in flavor with a chewy texture and its rind quite soft. The flavors are much more subtle than the Cannonball and less bold. It was a more elegant cheese in comparison, however. The quality of the raw milk was expressed nicely in this cheese.

This is a pic-less post. You can view pictures of the cheeses on www.capriolegoatcheese.com