I have long been a fan of the cheeses produced at Sweet Grass Dairy in Southwest Georgia. I first tasted their Green Hill and Thomasville Tomme while opening Cheese Shops for Murray’s, back in the day. I have written about them on more than a few occasions. When The Man and I visited Savannah, we enjoyed a cheeseboard at B. Matthews near the Riverwalk. In 2015, we took Miss Anne to Asheville to tour The Biltmore and while there, lunched one day at The Grove Park Inn. Of course (we always do), we ordered the cheese plate and both featured Sweet Grass Dairy lovelies.
Recently I contacted them about adding their cheeses to my Grab and Go refrigerators at Blue Haven Bee and Sweet Combs of Honey. Lisa and Leah offered to send samples to assist me in making choices to order. (Because of Covid, I have turned to pre-cut/wrapped wedges to add another layer of safety for my customers and SGD offers pre-cut/wraps on a few of their cheeses.) Included in the samples were Green Hill, Thomasville Tomme, Griffin and Asher Blue, plus spreads and their pimento cheese.
I decided to share with my friends at Sweet Combs of Honey. With the Covid 19 precautions in place, we kept the group to six of us; which meant more for us… each person had a favorite and all of them were loved. With only six persons, if is hard to declare a firm winner, but Griffin got 3 votes and each of the others got 1 vote each.
All of the cheeses are made raw milk, except Green Hill which is made with pasteurized milk, from their three family farms. Each cow is at least 50% Jersey with crosses of Holstein, New Zealand Friesian and Norwegian Red. The cows graze outdoors 365 days rotating fields every twelve hours. With a low temperature of 67 degrees, the grass grows all year (needing only 50 degrees to grow). Supplements of organic non-GMO corn, cottenseed hull, citrus pulp and hay make-up about 10% of the cows’ diet. All of these responsible husbandry practices extend the life of their cows by several years.
To compliment the cheeses, I also served selections of Kelly’s Jelly and 34 Degree Crisps.
With the exception of Griffin, I have reviewed the other three in the past and continue to be a fan of each of them. But I’ve got to say, Griffen knocked my socks off; Griffin curds are soaked in an entire keg of Terminus Porter from Gate City Brewing. The result is a malty, crumbly version of TT.
Although, Asher Blue, is easily one of my top three favorite blues made in the United States. It is creamy and earthy with a chocolate finish.
Thomasville Tomme is fashioned in the style of European Tommes with grassy and floral notes.
Green Hill is their tribute to Camembert; a double cream, soft-ripened 8 ounce round, aged 60 days to deliver a lactic and mushroomy finish.
I’ll be introducing Green Hill, Thomasville Tomme and Asher Blue at Blue Haven Bee on Saturday October 3rd and starting October 10th, they will also be available at Sweet Combs of Honey.
In addition to being a member of the Internationale Guilde des Fromagers (Jura and Garde) and an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.
As stated above, Sweet Grass Dairy did send samples of the four cheeses for me to taste. I also am an ambassador for both Kelly’s Jelly and 34 Degrees, who provide samples to me. No other compensation was offered nor requested. The opinions are solely my own.
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