A few weeks ago, I had my first Banon which you may recall, I *adored*.

Banon is a French goat cheese typically made from a raw goat’s milk. The O’ Banon is a domestic offering from Capriole Farms in southern Indiana. I’ve also reviewed their Wabash Cannonball, which is a really outstanding cheese.

The Capriole’s O’Banon takes its name from the former Indiana Governor, Frank O’Bannon. The O’Banon is wrapped in traditional Chestnut leaves, but that’s where tradition ends. Instead of wine, the O’Banon is soaked in Bourbon, which gives it a distinctly different flavor–although still quite good.

Inside, it’s a softer cheese, the consistency of a typical chevre. It’s not runny, it’s still firm, but soft and spreadable. It’s a young cheese, too, so it’s not chalky, nor is it very strong in flavor. It’s quite mild, and if you aren’t a fan of the “goat” tang, you won’t find it in this cheese. It’s deliberately younger, not ripened, to give it that lighter, fresher taste, and I’d say mission accomplished.

It’s not the earth shattering experience that I had with my first Banon, but I really enjoyed this one, it would make an excellent counter to a stronger flavored cheese on any board, and the light freshness of the cheese, combined with the hint of woodiness from the bourbon is a really nice touch. And it’s another great example of a traditional old world cheese that is being embraced by farmstead producers here in the United States, with a decidedly new world twist that demonstrates that American producers are artists in their own right.