It's the season of warmer days, cooler nights, muddy roads, and flowing maple! Vermont goes mad for maple every March during sugaring season, and there are lots of opportunities to celebrate Vermont's liquid gold this year. Sample Vermont's favorite sweet treats at sugarhouses around the state opening their doors for Maple Open House Weekend, and continue celebrating maple at Vermont restaurants who celebrate this favorite local ingredient in the food and drinks they serve.
This Maple Open House Weekend (March 23-24, 2024), find the following maple items on the menu!
These restaurants are members of Vermont Fresh Network and will be donating $1 from the sale of each maple menu item this weekend to support VFN's work supporting local food and drinkpartnerships.. We appreciate their dedication to working with Vermont-grown ingredients, celebrating Vermont maple, and supporting VFN's mission!
American Flatbread Burlington Hearth, Burlington
At American Flatbread Burlington, celebrate Maple Open House Weekend with Vermont Sausage Bread, made with house maple-fennel pork sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, mushrooms, mozzarella, grana padano, and fresh herbs. The maple in their sausage comes from Happy Hollow Sugarworks in Huntington!
The Bench, Stowe
The Bench in Stowe is serving up not one, but FOUR maple cocktails to celebrate Vermont's liquid gold this spring. Wind down after a day of exploring Vermont's sugarhouses with one (or two 😉) of the following drinks:
- Purple Haze (Red Wine Sangria) - Gran Passion Merlot, Green Mountain Distillers Maple Liqueur, Cointreau, smoked cinnamon bitters, and cold pressed citrus juice
- The Trees Knees (Bee's Knees) - Caledonia Spirits Barr Hill Gin, Vermont maple syrup, cold pressed lemon juice, soda water
- Emily's Bridge (apple rum punch) - St. Johnsbury Distillery's Dunc's Maple Rum, local apple cider, cinnamon simple syrup, orange bitters, cinnamon sugar rim
- Mud Season Martini (coffee martini) - Green Mountain Distillers Organic Vanilla Vodka, Metcalf Maple Creme, Vermont Coffee Co. iced coffee, Vermont maple syrup
Windjammer Restaurant, South Burlington
Celebrate maple and the spirit of collaboration in Vermont's food system with a Maple Manhattan from Windjammer Restaurant. This cocktail is crafted with Saxton River Distillery's Sapling Maple Liqueur (which is made from Vermont grade A maple), as well as Maker's Mark bourbon and Sweet Vermouth.
If you can't make it to any of these spots this weekend, pick up some maple from your local sugar shack and whip up your own maple cocktail at home with this recipe from Edson Hill!
Edson Hill's Maple Run Margarita
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces Espolon Blanco
- 1 ounce fresh lime juice
- 3/4 ounce grade A maple syrup
Instructions:
Shake and strain over fresh rocks in a sumac salt-rimmed rocks glass. Cheers!
