Vegan Cheese and Alcohol-Free Drinks this Christmas
Christmas is the perfect time to enjoy extravagant cheese boards and delicious drinks. Luckily, nowadays, no one has to miss out on this fantastic snack. So whether you avoid dairy, alcohol, or both, you can enjoy an evening of vegan cheese and alcohol-free drinks. What luxury!
So if you want to enjoy your cheesy evenings guilt-free, here are some top-tier vegan cheese and alcohol-free booze pairings. Don’t worry, if you enjoy eating cheese or drinking booze, you can swap in the equivalent cheese or drink to your liking.
Alcohol-Free Cider and Cathedral City Vegan Cheddar
Cider and Cheddar is a classic combination that cannot be beaten. Cathedral City Vegan Cheddar, available in most supermarkets in the UK, is one of the best vegan cheddars available. It manages to recreate the smooth yet crumbly texture of Cheddar brilliantly. Pair this with a crisp alcohol-free apple cider, such as the Stowford Press alcohol-free apple cider, to enhance the flavours in both.
When pairing food and drinks, it can help to select products from similar regions, which is why the alcohol-free cider and vegan Cheddar combination works so well. Additionally, both alcohol-free cider and vegan Cheddar have a fermented tanginess. This tang makes them go together perfectly.
Minerthreat Smoky Charcoal and Mahala Botanical Amber
The Minerthreat Smoky Charcoal vegan cheese is one of the signature vegan cheeses created by I am nut okay. It is a smoky cashew cheese that has been ripened in an activated charcoal rind and has veins of activated charcoal running down it. With a creamy, semi-soft texture, this vegan cheese has a woody, hickory flavour.
We suggest pairing this vegan cheese with a smoky alcohol-free, whisky-like drink. A smoky, alcohol-free spirit will bring out the smokiness of the vegan cheese. For example, the Mahala Botanical Amber spirit, diluted with some water (and maybe with some lemon juice), is the perfect alcohol-free drink to pair with the Minerthreat vegan cheese. The smoky and oak flavours in the drink will bring out the smoky flavour in the vegan cheese. But the sweeter honey and floral flavours in the alcohol-free spirit will help to balance and sweeten the vegan cheese.
Tyne Cheese Cashew Bert and Noughty Alcohol-Free Sparkling Wine
Cashew Bert is a creamy vegan camembert replacement. It is made with authentic Camembert cultures in a creamy cashew base, which gives it the distinct flavour of a dairy Camembert cheese. Tyne vegan cheeses are widely regarded as some of the best vegan cheeses from the UK, and the Cashew Bert is no exception. So, while the price tag might be high, it is the perfect vegan Christmas treat.
Pair the Cashew Bert with a Noughty Alcohol-Free sparkling Chardonnay for a taste sensation. The bubbles of a sparkling wine balance out the soft creaminess of the Cashew Bert. This is because the bubbles cut through the fatty mouth feel left after eating camembert. This leaves you with a fresh taste in your mouth.
Blue Mountain and Ruby Highpoint
For all you blue cheese lovers, Blue Mountain, by Strictly Roots Vegan, makes a delicious vegan blue cheese. It is a cashew-based, slow-aged vegan cheese made with the Penicillium roqueforti mould cultures. These cultures give it a deliciously distinctive blue cheese flavour.
Pair vegan blue cheese with a Highpoint Ruby Aperitif which has light floral aromas followed by a citrussy wave, leaving you with a bittersweet aftertaste. The sweet floral flavours help to balance the tangy flavours of the vegan cheese, whilst the subtle herbal bitterness really brings out the complex flavours of the vegan blue cheese.
Mouldy Goaty and New London Light First Light Gin and Tonic
Mouldy Goaty is a vegan goat's cheese made by Palace Culture. It is a semi-soft cheese with a creamy and tangy flavour, reminiscent of the flavour of goat's cheese. This cheese is aged for two weeks, using traditional fermentation processes that create helpful enzymes and gut-friendly live cultures.
For the perfect pairing, pair this vegan goat's cheese with an alcohol-free London gin and tonic. The New London Light, First Light alcohol-free gin, mixed with tonic, is the perfect drink to enjoy with this vegan cheese.
The bitterness and sharpness of the alcohol-free gin and tonic pair perfectly with the creamy tanginess of the vegan goat's cheese. Additionally, the bubbles in the tonic cut through the fattiness of the semi-soft vegan cheese.
Sign Up for a JOMO Subscription
If you want the perfect alcohol-free drinks to pair with your vegan cheese boards (or dairy) this Christmas, look no further than the JOMO bottle shop. With a large range of alcohol-free drinks, you can find the perfect alcohol-free booze to match your vegan cheese.
If you sign up for a JOMO alcohol-free subscription box, you will regularly receive a hamper, filled to the brim with delicious alcohol-free goodies, directly to your front door. Each box is mindfully curated using only top-quality and artisanally made products. So sign up now and find the Joy Of Missing Out.