Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is maple sap boiled down until it is about two thirds sugar, almost all of it sucrose; the CFIA’s grade standard requires graded Canadian syrup to be at least 66% soluble solids. That puts it close to our 2:1 rich syrup in strength, so 10ml of maple does the work of about 15ml of simple syrup. Our Maple Old Fashioned takes 10ml of a darker grade, and we keep real maple in the fridge once opened.
Quick Facts
We keep it in the fridge after opening: real maple can mould where the fakes cannot.
None of the 14 listed allergens.
About Maple Syrup
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Caramelised forest sweetness with toasted depth: sugar that remembers being a tree.
Boiled sap, two thirds sugar
Maple sap comes out of the tree at roughly 1.5 to 3.5% sugar, and it takes between about 25 and 57 litres of it to make a litre of syrup, depending on how sweet the sap is. In Canada, graded syrup must be at least 66% soluble solids, almost all of it sucrose. The toasted, woody flavour forms as it boils.
The grade is a colour and a strength of flavour
Canada amended its Maple Products Regulations in December 2014 and the United States standards took effect on 2 March 2015. Table syrup is now Grade A in four colour classes, each with its own taste descriptor printed on the bottle; the darker syrups were sold under the old Grade B.
Grade A maple syrup colour classes and where each suits a drink (classes from the CFIA’s Canadian Grade Compendium)
Golden
- Taste on the label
- Delicate
- In a drink
- Lost under whisky; suits a light, cold drink
Amber
- Taste on the label
- Rich
- In a drink
- An all-round choice for punches and sours
Dark
- Taste on the label
- Robust
- In a drink
- Carries through bourbon and rye
Very Dark
- Taste on the label
- Strong
- In a drink
- Strongest flavour; a little goes a long way
| Colour class | Taste on the label | In a drink |
|---|---|---|
| Golden | Delicate | Lost under whisky; suits a light, cold drink |
| Amber | Rich | An all-round choice for punches and sours |
| Dark | Robust | Carries through bourbon and rye |
| Very Dark | Strong | Strongest flavour; a little goes a long way |
It belongs with whisky, apple and warm spice
The Maple Old Fashioned takes 10ml of a darker grade where the sugar usually goes, and the Autumn Gold uses 15ml against lemon with bourbon and apple brandy. In the warm batches it sweetens apple juice: 50ml across a pot of Hot Spiced Cider, 250ml in the Fireside Punch. At about the strength of rich syrup, it replaces simple syrup at two thirds of the measure.
Real maple goes in the fridge once opened
In our experience an opened bottle of pure maple syrup, which carries no preservative, can grow mould at room temperature. We keep it in the fridge for months. Breakfast syrups made from glucose or corn syrup are another product, often with no maple in them at all: read the ingredients, since real maple syrup lists only itself.
Using Maple Syrup
Usage
Our recipes pour 10ml in the Maple Old Fashioned and 15ml in the Autumn Gold, and much more across a punch: 50ml in a pot of Hot Spiced Cider, 250ml in the Fireside Punch. It needs no dilution, and a proper stir, since it sinks.
Pro Tip
Measure maple level and pour it before the spirit in a stirred drink. It is thick enough to cling to the jigger and sink to the bottom of the mixing glass, and stirring the syrup and bitters together first gets it into the drink.
Top Tips
- Read the ingredients. Real maple syrup lists maple syrup and nothing else; a breakfast syrup with a list is not it.
- Choose a darker grade for whisky drinks. A golden syrup vanishes under bourbon.
- Use 10ml of maple where a recipe gives 15ml of simple syrup.
- We keep it in the fridge once opened. It has no preservative and can grow mould at room temperature.
Possible Substitutions
- Demerara Syrup: the molasses cousin, the same weight
- Honey Syrup: floral where maple is toasted
Production Method
Sap from maple trees, boiled until it reaches syrup strength: the CFIA’s grade standard sets graded Canadian syrup at 66% soluble solids or more. Sap runs at roughly 1.5 to 3.5% sugar, so it takes about 25 to 57 litres to make one litre of syrup.
More to explore
Common Questions
What is maple syrup made of?
Which grade of maple syrup suits cocktails?
Is pancake syrup the same as maple syrup?
Does maple syrup go off once opened?
How much maple syrup replaces simple syrup?
How much sap does it take to make maple syrup?
What drinks use maple syrup?
Sources.
Checked between 17 October and 20 October 2026.
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency, “Canadian Grade Compendium, Volume 7: maple syrup”.
- USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, “United States Standards for Grades of Maple Syrup” (primary: effective 2 March 2015; U.S. Grade A in four colour and flavour classes, Golden Delicate, Amber Rich, Dark Robust and Very Dark Strong).
- Canada Gazette (Government of Canada), “Regulations Amending the Maple Products Regulations (SOR/2014-297), Canada Gazette Part II, 31 December 2014” (primary: registered 12 December 2014 and published 31 December 2014).
Made with Maple Syrup
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Often Used With
Updated 20 October 2026