Ah...Rush Creek Reserve, it was blink and you miss it this season in my department. We were able to get our hands on a single case. Harbison is generally always available and a good analogue to RCR. For fans of that style of cheese, I highly recommend:

http://fireflyfarms.com/merry-goat-roun ... serve.html

pairs4life wrote:It is stunning and a tad less meaty/unctuous than Jasper Hills Harbison.

No Rush Creek or Jasper Hills Harbison to be found but both the bride and I were blow away by Tulip Tree Trillium and Jasper Hill Moses Sleeper.

Orders for the 2018 Rush Creek Reserve, scheduled to ship on 11/5, are now being accepted at Uplands' website.

Ya'll go gitcha' some cheese!

=R=

Fans of Uplands Cheese, and artisan cheese more generally, may want to check out out their Victory Cheese Box:

Uplands Cheese wrote:Delicious with a purpose. Enjoy a collection of Wisconsin’s best artisan cheese and support small-scale, family cheesemakers during the pandemic. Plus, we’re donating 10% of all Victory Cheese Box sales to our local food bank, the Southwest Community Action Program.

Our Victory Cheese Box combines three of our state’s most famous cheeses with mouthwatering spiced pecans and a jar of local preserves. A ready-to-eat spread that arrives at your door, with FREE SHIPPING!

The box includes a half-pound of Pleasant Ridge Reserve, a half-pound of Hook’s 10-Year Cheddar, a half-pound of Roelli’s Red Rock, and some other goodies.

About Victory Cheese:
The Victory Cheese movement was formed in May 2020 to generate support for American artisan cheesemakers struggling during the pandemic. With the closure of restaurants, specialty food stores and farmer’s markets, many of us have lost a significant portion of our sales and face the risk of closure.

Choose it or lose it, as the saying goes. If you don’t buy our cheese now, it may be gone the next time you look. The purchase of a Victory Cheese Box sends direct support to American cheesemakers and their rural communities. Learn more at victorycheese.com

The last link has boxes from other artisan cheeses around the country.

2020 can't ruin everything. Rush Creek Reserve is back. Order here or look around town. Whole Foods on Ashland (RIP Pastoral*) says they've gotten it in but haven't put it out for sale yet.

*Speaking of Pastoral, would-be visitors to their website are now redirected to something extremely NSFW.

Whole Foods on Broadway in Edgewater has it. Picked some up today.

Got some today through one of my restaurant friends, who offered to include me in their order. It gave me a chance to include a tip for their crew, which I appreciated.

=R=

Darren72 wrote:Whole Foods on Broadway in Edgewater has it. Picked some up today.

Ripe and stuffed into dates sounds really good right now.

Pre-ordered on their site and it arrived at my door this afternoon! Looking forward to digging in this weekend!

I was at the Park Ridge Whole Foods 2 days ago and they had it out in the cheese case, same price as direct from the website.

L & M Market, at Lincoln and Montrose, posted they have Rush Creek Reserve, "...a limited amount so come grab it fast!"

Deerfield Whole Foods seems to have plenty. $34.99 which I believe is $5 more than last year, but matches the online price.

-Will

Uplands' other amazing cheese . . .


Pleasant Ridge Reserve & Sausage Snack
Sliced up some leftover sausage from Friday to pair up with some extra aged Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese. It had been a while and I'd forgotten just how spectacular this cheese is. I presume we're once again coming up on Rush Creek Reserve season . . .

=R=

Thanks for the reminder. It's in stock on the website - I just ordered.

The 2022 Rush Creek Reserve is now on sale and it's as spectacular as ever. I ordered it directly from Uplands' website, along with some Pleasant Ridge Reserve and some artisanal, soppressata-style, whey-fed pork salami from Underground Meats in Madison, WI (heritage pigs used for the salami are fed whey from Uplands' cheesemaking) . . .


World Class Snack
Pleasant Ridge Reserve on the left, Rush Creek Reserve centered on the plate and Underground Meats' soppressata-style salami front and back.

=R=

Thanks, and thanks for the reminder on Harbison.

Upland Cheese is having a flash sale today and tomorrow (11/25/2022 & 11/26/2022).

Whole foods in Deerfield got theirs in. Its $35/lb which comes to about 25 per piece. Significantly less than online which is $37 per piece.
Cheese guy said they didn't get in all that they ordered and was doubtful that they would get another shipment. They also have a gin washed harbison which is quite good.

Now that I think about it they may have mismarked the Rush Creek by charging by the pound rather than the piece which it usually was in the past. glad I bought 2 before they figure it out.

-Will

Heads up: The 2023 Rush Creek Reserve is now available via Uplands' website (and elsewhere, I'm guessing).

=R=

Thank you!
Free Shipping for $100 and no tax because Wisconsin does not tax food.
-Richard

The Stamper Cheese stand at the Lincoln Square Farmers Market (in the parking lot next to the Western brown line station at Lincoln & Leland) had Rush Creek Reserve for $35/wheel last Tuesday. The market runs on Tuesday mornings from 7 AM - 12 PM through November.

Rush Creek is $31 at All Together Now and $30 at Eataly. Two things I wish I'd known before I paid $37 to order direct from the company: 1) That those cheaper options existed, and, more importantly, 2) per my mutual friend with Andy Hatch, the man behind Rush Creek Reserve, dealing with direct orders is a hassle for him and we're not really helping him out by ordering direct rather than just buying it at retail outlets.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:2) per my mutual friend with Andy Hatch, the man behind Rush Creek Reserve, dealing with direct orders is a hassle for him and we're not really helping him out by ordering direct rather than just buying it at retail outlets.

Interesting. I've always been torn between ordering direct vs buying locally. Whole Foods always has it in stock, generally for a few bucks less than ordering direct - plus, shipping isn't cheap when you order from the website unless you order enough to qualify for free shipping.

They also have an Extra-Aged Pleasant Ridge Reserve. I hadn't tried this before and haven't seen it locally. Has anyone tried it?

Darren72 wrote:

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:2) per my mutual friend with Andy Hatch, the man behind Rush Creek Reserve, dealing with direct orders is a hassle for him and we're not really helping him out by ordering direct rather than just buying it at retail outlets.

Interesting. I've always been torn between ordering direct vs buying locally. Whole Foods always has it in stock, generally for a few bucks less than ordering direct - plus, shipping isn't cheap when you order from the website unless you order enough to qualify for free shipping.

They also have an Extra-Aged Pleasant Ridge Reserve. I hadn't tried this before and haven't seen it locally. Has anyone tried it?

I tend to buy direct because I think the quality is more consistent. I also like being able to get other products in my order, like the whey-fed pork salami (collaboration w/Underground Meats), extra aged PRR, etc.

Btw, the extra-aged is just awesome. A more intense, slightly funkier version of the standard issue and well worth it. I generally buy a 1-pound wedge every year with my RCR and serve it at Thanksgiving. I hate to say it but when I've seen this product retail, it's not in the pristine condition it is when ordered direct. They're basically cutting this from the wheel to order, wrapping it in cheese paper and shipping it out. Tough for a retailer to match that.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Darren72 wrote:They also have an Extra-Aged Pleasant Ridge Reserve. I hadn't tried this before and haven't seen it locally. Has anyone tried it?

Btw, the extra-aged is just awesome. A more intense, slightly funkier version of the standard issue and well worth it. I generally buy a 1-pound wedge every year with my RCR and serve it at Thanksgiving.

Agreed on the aged stuff. Really great. And if you're ordering two Rush Creek Reserves online, adding on a pound gets you to free shipping. Without free shipping, the premium you're paying for ordering just a wheel or two of RCR direct gets into the silliness category.

Deal alert. RCR is $40/lb at whole foods in Deerfield which is aprox $30/piece depending on actual weight. Currently it is 25% off with additional 10% for members which makes it $20 per. Store seemed to have plenty in stock.

Was disappointed with last year....I thought it was a bit harsh. Hopefully better this year.

-Will

Tried it last night and it is more to my liking than last year. I do not follow the directions and warm and remove the top layer and scoop out the goo. I eat the whole thing except the bark covered rind on the edge. This makes it important that the top and bottom do not have any off flavors.

There is another contender in the bark rind arena, and that is the Point Reyes Quinta. unlike the RCR it is pasteurized so it doesnt have to age for 60 days before being shipped. This lets you follow the flavor development over time, which is mentioned on the package. I have bought several and eaten them a month apart and there is definitely complexity development. It is a bit runnier than either RCR or Harbison.

-Will

WillG wrote:There is another contender in the bark rind arena, and that is the Point Reyes Quinta. unlike the RCR it is pasteurized so it doesnt have to age for 60 days before being shipped. This lets you follow the flavor development over time, which is mentioned on the package. I have bought several and eaten them a month apart and there is definitely complexity development. It is a bit runnier than either RCR or Harbison.

-Will

I had a Quinta that we bought while in the Bay Area this past August. Gorgeous cheese, lots of funk. The bay leaf on the top makes the "lid" very strongly flavored, and I also avoided the bark-covered rind.

I found my wedge of Pleasant Ridge ‘Extra Aged Reserve’ ordered direct, too aged! Clear indications of over aging, cheese inside of rind was different color in some spots and HARD!
Cheese has changed over the years as first ones I had purchased caused a reaction with my tongue. This current cheese, no reaction.
We will open the Rush Creek soft cheese next and have with the salami they sell.
-Richard

While checking out the 12 Day of Cheeses at Whole Foods (Wheaton), I noticed that Rush Creek Reserve is on sale for $22.49/lb (with Prime member). Of course I couldn't pass that up, along with 5 others!