Mike Gingrich, an owner of Uplands Cheese in Dodgeville, Wis., has made just one cheese for the last 10 years: Pleasant Ridge Reserve, in a firm, deeply nutty-tasting Alpine-style. Then, three years ago, Uplands hired Andy Hatch, a young cheesemaker who was keen on making his own mark. The result? Rush Creek Reserve.

If Pleasant Ridge is the Uplands American version of Beaufort, the new cheese takes after Vacherin Mont d’Or. Within a chalky beige rind, Rush Creek Reserve is fluent and satiny, with a rich, slightly grassy aroma and a mild flavor that hints of smoke and pork. A washed-rind cheese, it is wrapped with a strip of the same spruce bark used for Vacherin. It is made from evening milk that was not pasteurized, and so by law it has to be aged for at least 60 days. Aging this style of cheese for so long was the trickiest part, Mr. Hatch said.

He will make it until the end of the year, and it will be sold until late February. It’s best enjoyed by removing the top crust and scooping the cheese with a spoon. “It’s a holiday season cheese intended for people to share,” Mr. Hatch said.

Rush Creek Reserve, about 13 ounces, is $19.99 at Murray’s, $25.99 at Saxelby Cheesemongers, and about $24 for a whole cheese and $12 for a half at Bedford Cheese.