Overall, this cheese and cocktail collaboration was a rousing success and can be easily copied or modified for your own pairing that you can host for friends. Pick up a copy of the Di Brunos House of Cheese book and follow the recipes below to host your own cheese and cocktail night.

Drink Recipes

Bloody Mary

2 oz The Bay Vodka
4 oz tomato juice
4 dashes Worstechire
1 tsp of hot sauce
1 tsp horseradish
1 tbsp pickle brine
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp olive brine
pepper and celery salt to taste
celery, pickles and olives to garnish

Add vodka, worstechire, hot sauce, horseradish, pickle brine, lime juice, olive brine and salt and pepper into a highball glass. Mix with a barspoon. Top with chilled tomato juice. Garnish with olives, pickles and celery.

Last Word

3/4 oz. gin
3/4 oz. green Chartreuse
3/4 oz. maraschino liqueur
3/4 oz. fresh lime juice

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled coupe.

Sazarac

2 oz. rye whiskey
1/2 oz. simple syrup
2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
absinthe
ice cubes
lemon twist

Chill rocks glass with ice cubes for 1-2 minutes. Dump ice. Give chilled glass an absinthe rinse then pour out. Stir other ingredients in a mixing glass, strain into the chilled rocks glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

The Pennsyltucky

1 oz Shine Whiskey
0.5 oz Laird’s 100 Proof apple brandy
1.5 oz Spodee
3 oz Yards Brawler

Shake Shine, Spodee and Laird’s well with ice, then pour over ice cubes into a frosted mug or mason jar. Add the ale and stir gently.

The Queen Village (a barrel-aged Manhattan variation)

Rittenhouse BIB Rye
Amaro Abano
Luxardo
Orange Flower Water
Creole Bitters
Aged in a one-liter, sherry-primed French oak barrel for six months

All photos by Jen Killius