Shaft's Blue is a cow's milk blue from Cedar Ridge, California, the kind of American blue that earns its place next to the European classics. The paste is semi-soft, buttery, and shot through with veins of Penicillium roqueforti that the wheels are pierced to encourage, letting the mold breathe evenly all the way through. The flavor opens buttery and clean, then the blue kicks in with a confident peppery bite that pulls back before turning sharp. Plenty of salt, a mushroomy cave-driven depth, and a long savory finish that lingers well past the swallow. It crumbles when you want it to, holds together when you want a slab, and stays creamy enough to spread on a piece of walnut bread. This is a blue for people who already love blue, the kind of wheel that holds its own next to a Stilton or a Roquefort while staying recognizably Californian, a little drier on the rind and a little fruitier in the paste.
