The Maple Syrup Cocktails (that are dancing in my head)

"What are you doing today?"

"I'm driving to Connecticut to spend the day with some good friends. Alone."

"Why can't I come?"

"You have to be taller than 4 feet to be invited."


Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of spending the day with friends that recently moved to Pomfret, CT. I've known these friends for some time and selfishly planned the day so that I could have them and their near 2 year old all (that's not quiet 4 feet but he might be some day) to myself, while my husband and kids were flittin' around doing other things. In Brookline.

Pomfret sits in the Quiet Corner of Northeastern Connecticut. It is verdant, hilly, and for now covered in green grass and almost-bare gray trees. It's an amazingly lovely and peaceful area.

(CA on flickr)

Part of our day included some art projects that Dave had planned. Another was walking around an old Colonial farm that has been in the family for centuries.

It was over the art project (and midday gin and tonics) and our discussion of a recent trip that Dave and Linda had taken to Quebec City that Linda began describing a cocktail that she had that has stuck in my head ever since.

I think it was either Linda's skill at chronicling this maple fantasia or Linda's ability to set the stage and take you right into the dark wood bar, fireplace, and serve you your drink....and

it. just. sounded. delicious.

Maybe, because to me, nothing beats a well-crafted cocktail?

Maybe because the ingredients seem particularly timely and autumnal?

or maybe I'm just forever looking for an excuse to try a new libation-seasonal or not?

The cocktail was basically a whiskey with maple syrup. And with some research, I found three concoctions worthy of sharing:

The Maple Leaf


(a variation on the Whiskey Sour)

2 oz Bourbon

½ oz Maple Syrup

½ oz Lemon Juice

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass filled with crush ice. Drink on a porch with an old dog.

and for something that doesn't require an old dog or a porch.....

Pure Canada Cocktail

2 oz Canadian whisky

1/2 oz maple syrup

1/2 oz fresh apple juice

3 dashes aromatic bitters

1/6 of a fresh lemon

In a cocktail shaker full of ice, combine all ingredients. Squeeze the lemon segment over top and drop in the rind. Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass.

Filibuster Cocktail

(adapted from Food & Wine's Cocktails 2008, from a recipe developed by Erik Adkins for the restaurant Flora in Oakland, CA)



1 1/2 ounces rye whiskey (bourbon can be substituted)

3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice

1/4 ounce pure maple syrup

dash Angostura bitters

1 egg white

lemon twist (for garnish)

Place all ingredients (except for the garnish) in a cocktail shaker and shake thoroughly. You should begin to feel a slight difference in the way the liquid moves in the shaker as the froth develops. Now add the ice and shake briefly again, to chill. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

Notes: Described as a very sophisticated, well-balanced cocktail. It has a smooth texture and a complex flavor. The maple flavor doesn't stand out here as noticeably as it does in the more rustic Maple Leaf, but blends in almost seamlessly with the bitters, bourbon, and lemon.

(More on the Maple Leaf and Filibuster recipes and notes can be found *here*)