15-year-old cheese is selling briskly – and for $50

A smooth and tangy 15-year-old cheddar unveiled last week by a Mineral Point cheesemaker is grabbing international attention. And it’s selling faster than cheese mongers can cut it – even at $50 per pound in a bitter economy.

The 1,200-pound stash of what’s believed to be the oldest cheddar on the U.S. market is selling so quickly for holiday gift-giving and entertaining that it may be gone by the weekend, one week after its release, said cheese maker Tony Hook, who co-owns Hook’s Cheese Co. with his wife and fellow cheese-maker, Julie Hook.

“For all the hype about the bad economy, we were having a good year even before we released this cheese,” Tony Hook said Tuesday. “The response to the 15-year-old cheddar has been unbelievable. We’re getting phone calls and e-mails from all over the country and the world. It’s beyond ridiculous.”

Among those placing orders: Wisconsin soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan who plan to be home for the holidays, and want to share the cheddar with their families, Hook said.

This is the single malt scotch of cheddar.

Older cheddars might exist, but they’re the stuff of private stashes in cheese-maker cellars – not sold to the general public, according to John Umhoefer, executive director of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, which hosts national and international cheese competitions.

Read the rest of the story: From Wisconsin to the world