Make the Best Tequila Lover's Cheese Board

Tequila lover's cheese board photo credit Amy Sherman

We have long been proponents of beverage pairings for cheese that go beyond the usual suspects of wine and beer. Long may those two categories reign when it comes to cozying up with cheese, but vermouth, cider, cocktails, and spirits also demand respect for their versatility in pairing cheese. When it comes to spirits specifically, cheese can actually meet them on a level playing field, with intensity of flavor and fullness of texture that are actually amplified, not flattened.

Having previously explored cheese and accoutrement pairings for both peppery, herbaceous gin, and the butterscotch and baking spice nature of rum, now it’s time for tequila to take its rightful place alongside some of our favorite curds. For this, we consulted an expert: Rodolfo Navarro Aceves of Mexico’s Quesos Navarro, for some of his recommendations on how to create a perfect tequila lover’s cheese board.

Why Tequila is a Great Pairing for Cheese

• Multiple expressions

• Aroma

• Acidity 

Like previous iterations with gin and rum, tequila isn’t just one thing. From different age expressions to the signatures of different producers, the flavors and textures of tequila span as wide a variety as cheese itself. “The particular attributes of tequila vary between the style, age, and distillery,” says Navarro Aceves, “but it’s always a versatile pairing for cheese because of its aromatic complexity and inherent acidity.”

Tequilas to serve with cheese

Tequila is a spirit category with many personalities. Consider the citric and lightly tropical notes in expressions such as DeLeón Blanco. Elder tequilas like Dia de la Sirena Reposado come forward with gentle woodsiness and florality. Añejo tequila, as with Lobos 1707, can masquerade as any darker spirit, bringing dried fruit and spice notes to the forefront. Not to mention bright young things such as joven and cristalino, which exhibit richer textures than their names would imply. 

Cheese Pairings for Tequila

There isn’t a category of cheese that tequila couldn’t provide a pairing for, but here are some of Navarro Aceves’ picks for the most inspired tequila-and-cheese partnerships.

Mexican Cheeses

Oaxaca cheese called quesillo photo credit depositphotos

Different varieties of tequila are, of course, versatile and inspired pairings for cheeses from around the world, (as is indicated by additional selections below,) but as we are always in favor of terroir-driven matchups, it bears mentioning that Mexico has a diverse cheese landscape that handily provides a number of homegrown options for a tequila lover’s cheese board. Cheeses such as quesilla, Chihuahua, manchego Mexicano, and aged cotija were among those mentioned, but here we highlight Adobera. Named for its similarity in shape to adobe bricks, it is both granular and creamy, tender and firm, salty and sweet, and the most-consumed cheese in Jalisco, tequila’s mandatory territory. “With its buttery and lactic notes and balanced salt, the alcohol of tequila helps with blending the fat in the mouth, bringing the best experience,” he explains, for the bright and citric flavor of a blanco tequila.

Aged, Grana Cheeses

Grana cheese

Several of Navarro Aceves’s picks for reposado tequila landed in the category of grana cheeses. Iconic, crumbly cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, and pecorino are often relegated to culinary applications, but any one of them is also excellent to snack on, especially when paired with a partner that can bring out some of their tropical fruit and subtly nutty notes. Reposado tequila’s delicate richness can provide a creamy mouthfeel that offsets the granular nature of some of these cheeses.

Bold Cheeses

Roquefort

In a like-with-like inspired pairing, if you’re sipping a rich, añejo tequila alongside your cheese board, Navarro Aceves recommends full-flavored cheeses that also have some age behind them. “Tequila añejo is the boldest,” he says, “with notes of wood, spices, vanilla, and dry fruits, and these can pair with bold, intense cheeses such as aged Cheddar, Roquefort, and Emmental.” While some aging might be a similarity between the two categories, the cheeses get more intensely savory with age, but the tequila gets perceptively sweeter, creating both a like-with-like pairing and an opposites-attract kind of pairing simultaneously.

Accompaniments for Tequila and Cheese

When it comes to accompaniments for a tequila lover’s cheese board, you can go beyond some of the usual cheese board suspects by leading with tequila’s usual companions instead. Navarro Aceves recommended the following:

Citrus

Fruit is often a mainstay on a cheese board, but citrus fruits aren’t necessarily a given. Navarro Aceves specifically recommends orange, however, as a flavor go-between for tequila and cheese, amplifying the citrus notes in the tequila itself, and providing a tart counterpoint to the cheese’s richness. Consider orange in all of its forms for your tequila lover’s cheese board: candied orange pieces, orange marmalade, juicy orange slices, or even chocolate covered orange. (More on that below.)

Tortilla chips

Blue corn tortilla chips

Tortilla chips can often be found where tequila is enthusiastically served, and for my palate blue corn tortillas with blue cheese was the pairing I didn’t know I needed. (Plus the orange marmalade mentioned above, and it might be my favorite single cheese bite so far this year.) The earthy sweetness of toasted corn, with a hit of salt, gracefully amplifies all of those notes in its cheese partners

Sourdough Bread

Sourdough bread is a series regular for cheese, but it is specifically on brand for a tequila-inspired cheese board. Bolillo is a type of crusty roll common in Central America. While it isn’t traditionally made with sourdough, sourdough versions are gaining in popularity, and provide an undercurrent tang to match tequila’s vibe. Your local sourdough boule will do just fine here, mirroring both the tang in tequila and the lactic acid in cheeses of any age.

Dark Chocolate

Mitica orange delights

We definitely don’t need a reason to invite chocolate to a cheese board, but here’s one for tequila lovers anyway: tequila’s homeland is also in the same latitudinal band where cacao actually grows. For a special touch, look for artisanal Mexican brands such as TA.CHO, Feliu, or Cuna de Piedra.