Cheese of the Week: Buttercup Cheese, Inc.

It's not often that I get to lend a hand to people making a product that I really enjoy.  Two week's ago, I stopped by to purchase a few cheeses at the Syracuse regional market.  Now, as I have mentioned, most of the cheeses in Central New York are cheddars or flavored cheeses.  One of the tables had a huge variety of cheeses, with cheddars of all ages (I grabbed a divine 8-year), but they promised that they had a nice selection of cheeses back at their store in Central Square.  I like going to Central Square, just north of Syracuse, for Alaura's Bakery (she makes the BEST macaroons anywhere on Earth).  So I stopped by the Buttercup Cheese store and I was delighted to find a variety of fresh curd and aged cheddars, along with cheeses and delicacies from Central New York.  I spoke with the owner and she told me that they were selling a special cheddar this year in honor of the brave souls who protested through 2011 and 2012.  This "Protester Cheddar" would be sold to raise funds to update their production facility and retail outlet.

So, if you like high quality New York Cheddar and you want to help promote a small business, click on the link below.  You can even add your own personal protest to the label.  Do a good turn and check them out.

Protester Cheddar

Libation of the Week: Barr's Irn Bru

Name: Irn Bru

Brand: A.G. Barr of Glascow

Place of Purchase: Wegmans in Clay, NY

Country/Region of Origin: Scotland

Tasting Conditions: Chilled in the plastic bottle

Price in New York: $1.99 for 12 oz.

Description:  "A carbonated, citrus fruit flavor soft drink.  Original & Best."

Flavor:  Artificially citrusy with a bite.

Mouth-feel: Very effervescent.  Comparable to Vernors for bubbly bite.

Aroma:  Like an orange Little Hug.

Notes: I think I got a bottle made for American markets, which makes me sad.  While it still has the characteristic Irn Bru orange color (with the blue cap) and flavour (thanks to ferric ammonium citrate and real cane sugar), the bottle I have has American colours and perservatives (sodium benzoate, which is not preferred in Britain due to the potential cancer risks).  The flavor is very artificial, reminding me of the foil-capped, plastic barrel Little Hugs.  The carbonation is intense, spikey like Vernor's Ginger Ale.  If I had to be honest, the preservatives made me not want to finish the bottle.  If you can find a bottle directly from Scotland, give it a try for the experience.  The formula should be the same as it was in 1901, and Irn Bru directly competes with Coke and Pepsi in Scotland, so it has to have something to offer.

Libation of the week: Ithaca Soda Company Root Beer

Name: Ithaca Soda Company Root Beer

Brand: Ithaca Beer Company

Place of Purchase: IGA in Hannibal, NY

Country/Region of Origin: USA

Tasting Conditions: Chilled in the bottle

Price in New York: $1.69 for 12 oz.

Description:  A Natural Soda of the Finger Lakes

Flavor:  A robust, rooty blend with a metallic aftertaste.

Mouth-feel: Effervescent with a decent head.

Aroma:  Woody and sweet.

Notes:  From the label, this soda looked like it would be a real treat.  Cane sugar sweetened.  Panama bark extract with hops, star anise, juniper and vanilla.  Not exactly a root beer, but a nice blend of flavors.

I drank it out of the bottle and got a snoot of stainless steel with my first sip.  I poured it into a glass, and while I could taste the beautiful melange of flavors, it was overpowered by metal.  I'm hoping that it was the bottle cap, but there are some sodas brewed in metal vats that pick up the taste of the container.  Maybe if I tried this one draft-style?

Disappointing...

Libation of the Week: Mistic Tropical Fruit Punch

Name: Mistic Tropical Fruit Punch

 

Brand: Dr. Pepper Snapple Group

Place of Purchase: IGA in Hannibal, NY

Country/Region of Origin: USA

Tasting Conditions: Chilled in the bottle

Price in New York: $1.49 for 16 oz.

Description:  A "natural" fruit punch.

Flavor:  A combination of guava, peach and mango.
 

Mouth-feel: Clean and refreshing, despite the presences of HFCS.

Aroma: Flowery and fruity, mostly guava.

Notes: This beverage is a brand that I loved in my college days.  I remember stopping by at the local Wilson Farms on my Friday trip to to Versailles, NY and buying one of these every week.  Mistic used to have a wide-range of flavors in the pre-Snapple days.  Really, their only competition back then was Arizona and New York Seltzers.  Everything else was fruit juice or soda pop.  I liked Mistic because it was mostly juice (it's only 3% juice now, but back then it didn't have HFCS either).  The current brand still had a flavor reminiscent of Hawaiian Punch (another personal favorite), but less artificial.  They still use natural colors, but while the flavor profile is the same, the only juice here is pear.  It's worth a try, if you don't read the label.