A Dutch gentleman in the cheese business once told me that the reason his country’s cheesemakers put so many different spices in Gouda—cumin, caraway, fenugreek, mustard seed—was because the Dutch eat Gouda every day. You have to change it up or lunch gets boring. Goat Gouda, which didn’t gain traction in the Netherlands until the 1980s, provides some variety in the modern Dutch diet. But sheep Gouda? “I am aware of no exported cheeses from the Netherlands made of sheep’s milk, nor, to my knowledge, is there any dairying of sheep there at all,” wrote Steve Jenkins in his authoritative Cheese Primer twenty-five years ago. Time to strike that, Steve. A new Dutch sheep Gouda has landed, and it’s on the march.

Rispens, named after the family that raises the sheep, is uncommon in more ways than one. Most Gouda is made in giant cooperatives, with the pooled milk from many farms. Rispens, in contrast, is made at a small co-op with milk entirely from the Rispens family’s Lacaune sheep. That’s the same prized breed used in France for Roquefort, and it is widely considered a top breed for cheesemaking.

The Rispens farm is in Morra, a hamlet in the Friesland province on the northern edge of the Netherlands. They have a few hundred sheep, which means the sheep outnumber the villagers. Most people in the region farm cattle; the Friesian cow (known in America as the Holstein) originated in the province. But as young adults, the Rispens children talked their parents into transitioning to sheep and cheesemaking. Betty Koster, the Amsterdam cheesemonger and affineur, helped the co-op refine the recipe and now exports the cheese under her brand, L’Amuse.

Rispens is a 10-pound wheel matured for about nine months. It has a coating that you can peel off; the coating slows moisture loss and keeps mold off the rind. Inside, the cheese is the color of butter—not ivory like goat Gouda or golden like cow Gouda—with a few eyes the size of a pinhead. The aroma is captivating, a blend of pale caramel, custard, cheesecake and lightly browned butter, with a hint of pineapple. One cheesemonger described it as smelling like shortbread. Some aged Goudas are so candy-sweet that I tire of them quickly, but Rispens’ tangy finish keeps it from being cloying. The wedge I sampled was firm yet creamy and just starting to develop some crystals.

What to drink? A rich Chardonnay or white Burgundy should work but also consider a white wine with some nuttiness, like a dry Oloroso sherry or a Rainwater Madeira. A malt-forward beer—a porter, stout or brown ale—would complement the caramel notes in this lovely new cheese.

Look for Rispens at these retailers.