Whitney From Cellars at Jasper Hill Wins Best in Show at Specialty Cheese Show

Whitney, a Raclette-style raw milk cheese from Vermont’s Cellars at Jasper Hill won Best in Show for specialty cheese at the American Cheese Society’s annual awards.

“Behind every great cheese is a community of people,” an overwhelmed Jasper Hill co-founder, Matteo Kehler, said in a ceremony held during the ACS convention in Portland, Ore. “What we’re trying to build is an agriculture-supported community. Not a CSA, but an ASC.

“At the root of this effort is delicious cheese. It’s the vehicle. It’s reflective of this point in the industry for us and it’s an epic opportunity to push the boundaries and win new consumers,” said Kehler, who founded the creamery with his brother, Andy.

“When you win new consumers for specialty cheese, we all win and we win together,” he said.

Whitney is a Jasper Hill Creamery original, according to the company’s website, inspired by the classic, mid-elevation mountain cheeses of Europe. At Jasper Hill, people are the main ingredient; this stoic, reliable cheese pays homage to Jasper Hill’s longest-standing employee: the steadfast Tim Whitney.

Bamboozle, a washed-rind goat and cow’s milk cheese from Goat Rodeo Farm & Dairy in Pennsylvania, and Flagsheep, a cloth-bound and open-air aged sheep’s milk cheese from Beecher’s Handmade Cheese in Washington, tied for second place.

Greensward, a cow’s milk washed-rind cheese from Murray’s Cheese of New York, took third place.

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