O'Banon Goat's Cheese

Capriole was founded in 1976, when Judith Schad and her family moved from the suburbs of Louisville to 80 acres in the rolling, southern Indiana hills. After a humble beginning, the farm now boasts over 400 Alpine, Saanen, and Nubian goats. Judith and her skilled team of seven employees work in the barn and cheesery, overseeing the process from milk to cheese to customer. This cycle begins and ends on the farm and is one they all share with personal pride.

O'Banon was one of first cheeses Capriole made, at a time when goat cheese didn't sell unless it had a French name. Because it's such hard work to produce, the cheese masters at Capriole have a love-hate relationship with it. While Banon has been made for centuries in the French Haute Provence region, Steve Jenkins, author of the best-selling "The Cheese Primer," says Capriole's "is much, much better than any I've tasted in France". The French version is smaller and ripened, whereas Capriole's is twice the size and fresh, giving it a lighter, palate cleansing edge to heavier cheeses on a cheese board. The French soak the chestnut leaves used to wrap the cheese in eau de vie. Capriole uses Old Forester or Woodford Reserve Bourbon. The tannins in the leaves and the bourbon combine to give this creamy, dense cheese just a nuance of a kick! The name itself is a play on words. Frank O'Bannon, a longtime friend of the dairy, was the ex-governor of Indiana. Capriole's Banon was renamed O'Banon when he passed away.

Awarded 1st Place in the American Cheese Society 2007 Awards in the Marinated Cheeses: Goat's Milk Open category.

• Made from goat's milk.
• Photo depicts whole 6 oz. form of cheese.