German Tilsit

http://www.igourmet.com/shoppe/prodview.aspx?prod=089S

I'll just quote iGourmet directly here:

"Tilsit was invented by homesick Dutch immigrants trying to recreate Gouda. Due to various factors, they were unable to recreate their beloved cheese. What they did create was a brand new cheese they named Tilsit."

That's a nice way of saying that they FAILED. Tilsit is a failed cheese experiment that somehow became popular in Germany, and I cannot begin to imagine why. From iGourmet again:

"Tilsit has a mildly pungent aroma..."

OK, that's just flat-out untrue. Tilsit is not "mildly pungent". It smells like a truck full of rotting garbage left to bake in the sun. No lie. It is the second-worst-smelling cheese I have ever smelled. And the taste in no way makes up for it. It tastes like a crappy, stinky, garbagey gross cheese. Do not invite this cheese into your home. I like German cheese, but they made a huge mistake with this one.

RATING: 1 out of 5 stars

Butterkäse

http://www.igourmet.com/shoppe/prodview.aspx?prod=759S

Butterkäse! Isn't that a great name? It's another German cheese, my favorite German cheese in fact. I love a cheese that tastes like it sounds, and Butterkäse does not disappoint; it's buttery as hell and delightfully mild. It definitely tastes like a young cheese, sort of bright and sunny. It will make you want to frolic through a meadow, with its sunny, cheery flavor.

Butterkäse is great for any cheese-related need - it's interesting enough to serve at a party, yet mild enough to eat on sandwiches, burgers, grilled cheese, or whatever.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Bruder Basil

http://www.cheese.com/Description.asp?Name=Bruder%20Basil

I only recently got into German cheese. I never really thought of Germany as a big cheese country, but I have found that there are quite a few unique and tasty German cheeses.

Bruder Basil is a smoked cheese, and I have never particularly enjoyed smoked cheeses, but this one is definitely an exception. The smoky flavor is lush, complex, elegant even; it reminds me of high-quality pipe tobacco, a delightful taste if ever there was one.

The texture is what you'd expect if you've ever eaten a smoked cheese before. They seem to be uniformly springy and sort of rubbery in texture, I'm not sure why that is. It should go well with just about anything you feel like eating.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars