20 best Maple Syrup cocktails

There's something comforting about flavoursome maple syrup and maple syrup tends to be paired with whiskey and often rum in Old Fashioned and Sour style cocktails. However, as the gin-based Old Vermont (below) proves, maple syrup's delicious richness can also work well combined with white spirits.

Apple Jack Rabbit (Savoy)
With: Calvados, orange juice, lemon juice and maple syrup.
We say: Apple, orange and tart lemon enriched with maple syrup. Strike the perfect balance and this is a delicious combination.

Benton's Old Fashioned
With: Bacon fat-washed bourbon, maple syrup, and aromatic bitters.
We say: Not particularly vegan-friendly but tasty, nonetheless.

Brown Derby
With: Bourbon whiskey, pink grapefruit juice and maple syrup
We say: When made with honey this is a De Rigueur Cocktail, but maple syrup's 'tang' sits better with the bourbon and grapefruit combo.

Cowboy Derby
With: Horse with no name whiskey, pink grapefruit juice and maple syrup
We say: Habanero-infused whiskey adds a touch of cowboy spirit to this riff on the classic 1930's Brown Derby, with maple syrup to balance grapefruit tart freshness.

Dantes in Fernet
With: Glenfiddich 12 year Old Speyside single malt, fernet liqueur, blood orange juice, maple syrup and chocolate bitters
We say: Maple syrup acts as an inspired sweetener and flavour enhancer in this Blood and Sand-like cocktail while fernet has an almost smoky herbal influence.

Drunken Helmsman
With: Overproof aged rum, amaro, falernum liqueur, lime juice and maple syrup
We say: A tad debauched but very tasty.

Expense Account
With: Aged rum, black rum, calvados, Bénédictine D.O.M., maple syrup, absinthe, and orange bitters.
We say: Best described as being a suitable expensive Rum Old Fashioned.

Four W Daiquiri
With: Gold rum, grapefruit juice, maple syrup and aromatic bitters.
We say: The oomph of rum, the sourness of grapefruit and the richness of maple syrup, all aromatised by bitters.

Japanese Maple
With: Japanese blended whisky, lemon juice, maple syrup and egg white.
We say: This excellent Japanese whisky-based sour is balanced with maple syrup.

Maple Leaf
With: Bourbon Whiskey, lemon juice and maple syrup.
We say: The trio combines wonderfully, with the maple syrup in a supporting role.

Maple Old Fashioned
With: Bourbon Whiskey, maple syrup and orange bitters
We say: A spirit-forward sipper that's rich and easy with bourbon mellowed and sweetened by maple syrup.

Maple Rum Old-Fashioned
With: Aged rum, maple syrup and aromatic bitters.
We say: Well-aged rum mellowed and sweetened by maple syrup. A spirit-forward sipper that's rich and easy.

Mountain Man Cocktail
With: Bourbon, crème de pêche, lemon juice, maple syrup, ginger syrup, and egg white.
We say: A peachy Whiskey Sour with a mild ginger kick.

Mule's Hind Leg
With: Gin, calvados, Bénédictine D.O.M, apricot brandy, and maple syrup.
We say: Gin and apple brandy enriched with apricot and liqueurs along with maple syrup.

Old Vermont
With: Dry gin, orange juice, lemon juice, maple syrup and aromatic bitters.
We say: Unusually, maple syrup sits with gin in this sour from yesteryear. It sits surprisingly well.

Port Old Fashioned
With: Bourbon, tawny port, maple syrup, and Abbotts bitters
We say: Whiskey and maple syrup somewhat overwhelm the headline port wine but it does add underlying fruitiness.

Smoky Whisky Sour
With: Islay single malt, blended Scotch, lemon juice, maple syrup, aromatic bitters, and egg white.
We say: Islay single malt and maple syrup add a distinctive smoky character to this otherwise classic Scotch whisky sour.

Thyme Will Tell Sour
With: Fresh thyme, bourbon, maple syrup and lemon juice.
We say: Thyme and maple syrup add extra interest to a Whiskey Sour.

Toronto Cocktail
With: Canadian whisky, fernet liqueur, maple syrup, and aromatic bitters.
We say: Originally sweetened with sugar syrup but maple syrup is more flavoursome and appropriate.

Tootsie Roll
With: Aged rum, maple syrup and chocolate bitters.
We say: A maple rum old fashioned served straight-up with chocolate bitters, and it does indeed taste reminiscent of Tootsie Roll chews.

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