by Deanna Nelson | Apr 10, 2014 | sap house notes | 1 comment
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Perhaps the most exciting part of making small batches of hand-crafted syrups is that there is a real relationship between what the trees are doing in the forests, and what comes out of the finish evaporator. For example, our first batch of syrup came from sap running during the very earliest days of the flow. The sap was intensely sweet and seemed to have far fewer minerals. By batch number five, the sap was gushing from the trees, and we noticed the calcium/mineral content was far greater, leaving a dusting of these valuable nutrients on the bottom of every bottle. The trees were in overdrive pushing water and essential nutrition to the budding branches. Terroir is also an important concept to any product of a tree or vine or other living thing associated with a particular piece of land. It is defined loosely as the specificity of place, which has come to include not only the soil in a region, but also the climate, the weather, the aspect of the forest and anything else that can possibly differentiate one piece of land from another. Tucked in at the edge of the snowy Tug Hill Plateau and situated upon deep limestone beds, we believe you’ll taste the difference the terroir of our forests makes to the end product. Consequently, we wanted to give our own taste impressions of each batch, and we’d love to hear what your buds report, as well! On the back of each bottle of syrup is a handwritten number, denoting the batch. Jeri has the most discerning palate in this group, so we’ve given her the job of relating her impressions. Read on, and let us know what your thoughts are!
#1 This batch has a toasted, nutty tone with a lot of depth yet a light flavor.
#2 Sweet, sweet, sweet with a bright, bold flavor.
#3 Buttery and sweet with tones of vanilla.
#4 Layered flavors of buttery vanilla with oak tones–light and sweet!
#5 Very sweet with caramel tones–robust!
#6 Ohhhh! Vanilla-caramel sweetness…
# 7 Fresh green, grassy tones with a vanilla-butter base.
#8 Ah! Smokey with a subtle spicy, masculine flavor.
#9 Woodsy tone with a hint of citrus backdrop.
# 10 Like the finest cotton candy–sweet! (Paul’s favorite batch!)
# 11 Wow! Sugar cookies dipped in butterscotch~
# 12 Finely toasted marshmallows!
Full Moon Batch: Reminiscent of crème brûlée!
# 14 Toasty, nutty with major vanilla undertones–makes one crave a bit of ice cream!
#15 The syrup is changing into a more substantial flavor. Number 15 marks a transformation into a “stout-ier” type of syrup with a weighty, rich tones.
# 16 Mmmmm…dark caramel popcorn…
#17 Roasted sweet toffee tones.
# 18 Delicious with buckwheat undertones complemented with hints of creamy coffee.
# 19 Bold syrup with distinct tones of espresso!
# 20 Citrus! This is a bold tropical tasting syrup to end the season!
Seasonal Blend 1: The combination of the first half of the season, SB1 is a yummy, layered blend with flavors of vanilla and apple–a tasty treat!
Seasonal Blend 2: Stay tuned!
Nearly done for the spring season! Please let us know your thoughts on our syrups. We certainly hope you’re as delighted as we are~