Livarot

Livarot is a cow's milk washed-rind cheese from Normandy, France, soft-paste under a sticky orange rind and ringed with five strips of dried sedge that give it its nickname, the Colonel.

The paste is supple and yielding, the kind of soft-ripened cheese that gives under the knife and grows almost spoonable near the rind as it ages. That orange rind gets there honestly, washed in brine through maturation, which is what pulls the color forward and builds the pungent, barnyardy character the cheese is famous for. On the palate it leads with a big savory hit, wet straw and cellar and a mushroomy pull from the rind, then a salty meaty depth that lingers well past the swallow. The interior stays a touch milder than the nose suggests, with a soft buttery undertone keeping the funk in check.

This is a classic of the Pays d'Auge and one of the oldest named cheeses in Normandy, AOP protected and made to a recipe that has not needed updating. If you like a serious washed-rind cheese with a real point of view, this is the one to know.