Of course you want some buttery Stilton on your holiday cheese board. So do I. But Britain has so many more sublime cheeses to try. Alas, with a no-deal Brexit looming, Britain’s cheesemakers are at risk, potentially facing a huge drop in sales to Europe. Time to show them some love. I asked Tracey Colley, who runs the UK’s Academy of Cheese, to name the 10 British cheeses that every American cheese lover should know. Availability is spotty, unfortunately. Importers have been reluctant to bring in the best from Britain because punitive tariffs implemented last year have made these costly cheeses even more so. Stephanie Ciano of World’s Best Cheese, an importer, says she is hopeful that the tariffs will disappear under the new Administration.

In the meantime, I’ve found online sources for several. Your amazing British cheese board is just a few clicks away.

Here are Colley’s suggestions and comments, edited for length:

Berkswell
Ram Hall Farm in Berkswell, Warwickshire, is home to the Fletcher family and their flock of 800 Friesland ewes. The family has been making this cheese on their 16th-century farm since 1989, using raw ewe’s milk and animal rennet. Cheesemakers gently hand press the fresh curd into plastic colanders, which produce the distinctive flying saucer shape. As it matures over four to six months, the rind develops a rustic coating of mold. The firm interior is slightly crumbly white with flavors ranging from fresh lactic to tropical fruits to savory. Pair with a craft IPA.

Colston Bassett Blue Stilton
A cheese that will pretty much be on every British cheese board at Christmas, this iconic blue (top left) has been made at the Colston Bassett Dairy for over 100 years. It is renowned for its even web of blue veins; its dairy, fruity and meaty flavors; and a crumbly texture that becomes creamy and buttery as it matures. Port is the classic pairing, but dessert wines and porters also work.

Available from Fairfield/Greenwich Cheese and some Whole Foods

Mrs. Kirkham’s Lancashire
First made by Ruth Kirkham in 1978 and now by her son Graham, this farmhouse cheese is handmade using raw cow’s milk from the family’s herd in Lancashire. The cheese is wrapped in cloth and matured for two to six months. The interior is crumbly with a mellow flavor and yogurt-like tang. Traditionally eaten with Eccles cakes. Try with a smoked beer such as German Rauchbier.

Available from Fairfield/Greenwich Cheese and Zingerman’s

Quicke’s Mature Cheddar
The Quicke family has been making clothbound Cheddar in Devon since 1985. The cheese is handcrafted using pasteurised milk and heritage starters and matured for 12 to 15 months. The Cheddar is rich and buttery and has outstanding depth of flavor, with brothy, grassy and caramel notes and sometimes horseradish near the rind. Enjoy with crunchy pickled onions, a hunk of crusty bread and a glass of English stout.

Available at some Whole Foods and from igourmet

Rachel
White Lake Cheese, based in Somerset, is home to over 200 goats, a mix of Toggenburg, British Alpine and Saanen breeds. Rachel, named for one of the cheesemaker’s former girlfriends, is a semi-hard washed-rind cheese with a distinctive yellow-orange rind, pure white interior and a mellow, sweet milk flavor. It won Best Goats Cheese at the 2017 World Cheese Awards. Pair with fig chutney.

Murray’s Cheese shows Rachel as “temporarily unavailable.”

Sharpham Rustic Chive & Garlic
A crumbly cheese from Devon, Sharpham Rustic is made on the Sharpham Estate using the farm’s Jersey cow milk. Matured for 4 to 8 weeks, it has a delicate citrus flavor that pairs well with oatcakes, sweet chutney and a crisp Pinot Gris. For the chive and garlic variation, the seasonings are added to the curd before molding and maturing.

Sparkenhoe Red Leicester
David and Jo Clarke revived this traditional clothbound cheese in 2006 on the family farm in South West Leicestershire. Named after the farm, Sparkenhoe Red Leicester (top right) is made from unpasteurized milk, animal rennet and annatto, a natural plant dye. As far back as the 17th century, cheesemakers used annatto to suggest that the cheese was made with rich summer milk. The cheese is matured for six months on beech shelves. It is mellow, nutty and savory, with a citrus finish. It looks stunning on a cheese board. Pair with a bitter or amber ale.

Available at Oxbow Cheese Merchant in Napa, at some Whole Foods, from Fairfield/Greenwich Cheese and from Zingerman’s

Stinking Bishop
Made by Charles Martell and a small team on his farm in Gloucestershire, Stinking Bishop is renowned for its pungent aroma. It is a washed-rind cheese made with pasteurized milk from their 13 cows and other local herds. As the cheese matures, it is washed in perry (pear cider), which gives it its characteristic flavor, fragrance and pinkish rind. The perry is made using the Stinking Bishop pear variety. The cheese can become runny when ripe so is supported by a beechwood girdle. The exterior has a strong, meaty flavor but the soft, supple interior is surprisingly sweet and mild with buttery notes. Delicious with thin slices of pear, traditional perry or a robust red wine.

Tunworth
Stacey Hedges was on a mission to make a British Camembert when she set up Hampshire Cheeses in 2004. Tunworth, now the world-renowned winner of multiple awards, is made with pasteurised cow’s milk. The milk slowly acidifies overnight and is then hand-ladled gently into molds. As the cheese matures over three to eight weeks, the rind wrinkles and the interior becomes soft and gooey, with a porcini mushroom flavor. Enjoy on crispbread with a drizzle of dark chestnut honey.

Available from Fairfield/Greenwich Cheese

Vintage Lincolnshire Poacher
The Jones family started making Lincolnshire Poacher in 1992 using unpasteurized cow’s milk from their own herd. This hard cheese is a cross between West Country Cheddar and an alpine- style cheese. It matures on wooden shelves for 18 to 24 months. It has a firm, compact texture with a huge spectrum of flavors, ranging from pineapple and toasted almond to a meaty and brothy finish. Try atop a slice of Lincolnshire plum bread with a glass of real ale.

Available from Zingerman’s