Jasper Hill Farm Cheese

For a first Jasper Hill purchase, Bayley Hazen Blue is the single strongest choice. As Jasper Hill's flagship and arguably the most celebrated natural-rind blue cheese made in America, it represents the creamery at its best — raw-milk, cave-aged, and instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with American artisan cheese. Bayley Hazen ships well, holds up in the refrigerator for weeks when properly wrapped, and serves beautifully as the centerpiece of a cheese board or paired simply with Port and dark chocolate. For shoppers who want the bloomy-rind, eat-with-a-spoon Jasper Hill experience, Harbison is the iconic choice when available, and Little Hosmer is the smaller format that serves one or two people in the same spruce-wrapped style. For a cheese lover's gift, Bayley Hazen Blue paired with a jar of good honey makes the strongest single order. For shoppers who prefer firmer, aged styles, Whitney or Alpha Tolman offer Alpine-style depth with Vermont provenance. If ordering for a dinner party or tasting, Bayley Hazen plus one spruce-wrapped bloomy (Harbison or Little Hosmer depending on availability) gives a board the blue-and-bloomy contrast that showcases the Jasper Hill range best.

Jasper Hill Farm is a Vermont-based cheesemaking operation founded by brothers Mateo and Andy Kehler in Greensboro, Vermont. The farm is run on a closed herd of Ayrshire cows and produces its own raw-milk cheeses, but the operation's distinguishing feature is the Cellars at Jasper Hill — a 22,000-square-foot underground aging facility built into a hillside beneath the farm. The Cellars house seven separate aging zones, each tuned to specific temperature and humidity conditions optimized for different cheese styles. Jasper Hill not only ages its own cheese in these cellars but also ages cheeses produced by other American cheesemakers, including a long-standing partnership with Cabot that produces the celebrated Cabot Clothbound Cheddar. This dual identity — farm cheese producer and industry-scale affineur — is almost unique in American cheesemaking, and the result is that cheeses carrying the Jasper Hill name are consistently finished with a depth and precision that few other American producers can match. The farm has been recognized repeatedly by the American Cheese Society, with Jasper Hill cheeses placing at ACS competitions across multiple years and multiple categories. Bayley Hazen Blue in particular has earned Best of Show and category wins that have elevated its profile nationally.

Bayley Hazen Blue is Jasper Hill Farm's flagship blue cheese — a raw cow's milk natural-rind blue named after the Bayley Hazen Military Road, an 18th-century Vermont road that passes near the farm. The cheese is aged approximately four months in the Cellars at Jasper Hill, where it develops a dense, fudgy paste distinctive among American blues for its concentration and mineral character. Unlike French Roquefort or English Stilton, Bayley Hazen is made with cow's milk rather than sheep's milk, and the flavor profile leans more toward cocoa and licorice than the salt-and-tang of European blues. On the board, serve Bayley Hazen at room temperature, cut into thick triangles rather than shaved — the texture is a signature of the cheese. It pairs traditionally with Sauternes, Port, or a structured dessert wine, with dense fruit breads or walnut bread, and with honey. Dark chocolate is an underrated pairing that works particularly well with Bayley Hazen's cocoa notes. Many professional cheesemongers consider it the finest natural-rind blue produced in America.

Harbison is a small, spruce-bark-wrapped bloomy-rind cheese made by Jasper Hill Farm from raw Ayrshire cow's milk. It weighs approximately eight ounces, sits about the size of a small English muffin, and is wrapped with a strip of bark harvested from spruce trees on the Jasper Hill property. The bark holds the shape as the interior softens during aging and contributes a distinctive woodsy, resinous note to the flavor. The defining feature of Harbison is its texture: the interior becomes so soft during aging that it's served by cutting off the top disc and eating the cheese directly with a spoon. Serve Harbison at room temperature, cut horizontally around the top third with a sharp knife, lift off the top like a lid, and provide spoons. A crusty baguette, water crackers, or fruit bread are the only accompaniments needed — the cheese is rich enough to stand alone. A drizzle of good honey elevates it without competing. Harbison is one of the most requested cheeses at American cheese counters when it's available, and availability rotates seasonally — typically stronger in late spring through fall.

Most of Jasper Hill Farm's own cheeses are made with raw (unpasteurized) milk from the farm's closed herd of Ayrshire cows, following the American artisan tradition of raw-milk cheesemaking. Raw-milk cheeses sold in the United States are legally required to age for a minimum of 60 days, and Jasper Hill's cheeses meet or substantially exceed this requirement. Bayley Hazen Blue ages for approximately four months, Whitney for six months or more, Alpha Tolman for nine to twelve months. The Harbison and Little Hosmer bloomy rinds meet the 60-day minimum. Raw-milk cheese is the standard at serious American cheese counters and is what the top European traditions (Roquefort, Comté, Parmigiano-Reggiano) are built on — the minerality, complexity, and depth that Jasper Hill is known for depend on it. Healthy adults can eat Jasper Hill raw-milk cheeses with confidence. Pregnant women, very young children, and immunocompromised individuals are generally advised to choose pasteurized alternatives as a precaution, which is standard guidance for any raw-milk soft cheese.

Jasper Hill Farm cheeses are available through select specialty cheese counters and online gourmet retailers. Jasper Hill itself operates primarily on a wholesale model — the farm supplies cheese to top American cheese shops rather than selling direct to consumers at scale, which is why reliable online access to the full range depends on a stocked retailer. igourmet carries Jasper Hill's core range and ships all cheeses via expedited service in temperature-controlled packaging — insulated liners with non-toxic frozen gel packs — to ensure the cheese arrives at optimal refrigeration temperature regardless of destination or season. Standard ground shipping is never used for perishable cheese. Delivery can be scheduled for a specific date at checkout, which is particularly useful for gift orders, dinner parties, or tastings where the cheese should arrive close to the intended serving date. For gifts, gift messages and gift wrapping are available at checkout. Availability rotates seasonally — Harbison and Little Hosmer in particular tend to be stronger in late spring through fall, while Bayley Hazen Blue, Whitney, and Alpha Tolman are available more consistently year-round. Full shipping details and delivery windows are available on igourmet's shipping information page.