Cocktails and Cheese Pairings: Classic Drinks, Best Cheeses

That is the whole method. The rest is picking the right cheese at the right age.

A cocktail is a more concentrated drink than wine or beer, usually with a spirit, a sweet element and an acid or bitter one in the same glass. That gives you more to match, and also more that can run over a delicate cheese. Strong drinks need cheeses with fat, salt and age behind them; light drinks suit fresh cheeses.

Classic cocktails and cheese at a glance

This cocktails and cheese table lists five classics, their main flavor job, and cheeses that suit them.

Those pairings are guidance, not rules. Taste one cocktail against two cheeses and the difference teaches you more than any chart.

Old Fashioned with cheese

An Old Fashioned with cheese is the easiest cocktail match because the drink is mostly whiskey and sugar. The International Bartenders Association recipe is 45 ml (about 1.5 oz) of bourbon or rye, a sugar cube, a few dashes of Angostura bitters and a little water, stirred over ice. Bourbon brings vanilla and caramel notes, and those sit well beside a 2 year aged cheddar or a Gouda aged past 18 months, whose butterscotch flavor and crunchy crystals match the drink point for point. The same logic is behind whiskey and cheese as a pairing on its own.

Weak spot: a mild, young cheese disappears. If the cheese is soft and milky, pick a different cocktail.

Negroni with cheese

A Negroni with cheese needs salt and fat to calm the bitterness. The IBA lists the Negroni as equal parts, 30 ml each, of gin, Campari and sweet red vermouth, built over ice with an orange slice. It is bitter, sweet and herbal at once, so a plain mild cheese gets steamrolled. Reach for shards of Parmigiano-Reggiano or a firm, salty Manchego, where the salt and savory depth stand up to Campari. A blue also works if you want a bolder contrast; a creamy one such as Gorgonzola dolce turns the bitterness almost dessert-like.

Margarita and gin and tonic with cheese

A Margarita with cheese is a fresh, acidic match. The IBA formula is 50 ml tequila, 20 ml triple sec and 15 ml lime juice, with an optional half salt rim. Lime acid cuts through fat the way it does on a taco, and a salt rim makes feta feel natural: brined, tangy cheese beside a salty, sour drink. Crumble it over the plate rather than serving it in cubes.

A gin and tonic with cheese suits lighter, creamier styles. The juniper is aromatic, the quinine bitter, and the bubbles lift richness off your tongue. Try a young chèvre or burrata. If you prefer wines for the same job, Champagne with cheese works on similar principles of acid and bubbles.

Manhattan with cheese

A Manhattan with cheese is a good bridge for people who like Gruyère or Comté. Rye whiskey has a peppery edge and sweet vermouth adds dried fruit. Nutty Alpine cheese answers with its own caramelized, savory flavors. The same family covers a Boulevardier or a Rob Roy. Stirred, spirit-forward drinks all lean toward firm, aged cheese.

How to build a cocktail and cheese tasting

How to build a cocktail and cheese tasting comes down to three drinks and three cheeses, in the order light to heavy. Start with a citrus drink and a fresh cheese, move to a sweeter or herbal drink with a creamy or blue cheese, and finish with the whiskey drink and an aged cheese. Pour small: a 1 oz to 1.5 oz portion of the finished drink is enough to taste against each cheese. Use pairing by intensity as a quick check, and plan about 2 oz of cheese per person across the whole flight, the same amount the board builder uses for appetizers.

Cold drinks over ice dull cheese flavor a little, so take the cheese out of the fridge 30 minutes ahead. Put out water too, and serve food alongside the drinks. A non-alcoholic option is easy to include; see cheese with non-alcoholic drinks.

Cocktail and cheese mistakes that spoil the match

Cocktail and cheese mistakes are mostly about strength and sweetness. A very boozy drink drowns delicate cheeses such as young brie or fresh mozzarella, so pair those with a light drink or none. Sugary cocktails (a piña colada, a sweet sour mix margarita) make salty cheese taste harsher, not softer, because the sweetness has nothing to balance. And a smoky mezcal or peaty Scotch cocktail overwhelms most cheeses except a strong blue.

Some drinks are better skipped. A drink with a lot of cream and the creamiest cheeses is simply too heavy. Where a cocktail is rich, choose a lean cheese.

Questions about cocktails and cheese

These questions about cocktails and cheese come up most for hosts planning a party.

What cocktail goes best with cheese?

The cocktail that goes best with cheese is a bourbon Old Fashioned with aged cheddar or aged Gouda, since the caramel and oak in the drink match the nutty flavor of the cheese.

What cheese goes with a Negroni?

The cheese that goes with a Negroni is a salty, firm one such as Parmigiano-Reggiano or Manchego, because salt and fat soften the Campari bitterness.

What cheese goes with a Margarita?

The cheese that goes with a Margarita is feta or a fresh goat cheese, whose tang and brine suit lime and a salted rim.

Can you serve cocktails at a cheese party?

You can serve cocktails at a cheese party if you pour small portions, pair each with a cheese of similar strength, and keep water and a non-alcoholic option out as well.

Which cheeses should you avoid with cocktails?

The cheeses to avoid with cocktails are very delicate ones, such as fresh mozzarella or young brie, when the drink is strong; a spirit-heavy cocktail covers their mild flavor.

Start your cocktail and cheese night

For a cocktail and cheese night, begin with three drinks (a gin and tonic, a Negroni, an Old Fashioned) and three cheeses (a young chèvre, a Parmigiano-Reggiano, an aged cheddar), and taste each in turn. Then swap and see which combination you like best. For the full set of options by drink, the pairing guide is the next page to open.