March Maple Madness – Vermont Maple Syrup
March brings the perfect conditions for producing the state’s “liquid gold”. In order to make our renowned Vermont Maple Syrup, local sugar houses in the region start gathering sap from maple trees as the weather warms. The process of producing maple syrup, often known as “Sugaring Season,” usually starts in late-February and lasts until early-April, making the month of March the perfect time to experience it all in Manchester, VT.
Did you know: Temperatures must regularly rise above 32 degrees during the day and drop below freezing at night for sap to flow; an astounding forty gallons of maple sap are needed to make one gallon of Vermont maple syrup; and the season ends when maple trees bud in mid-April, changing the sap’s flavor. According to the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers, Vermont produces an average of 2 million gallons of maple syrup in just a few short months, which makes up over half of the US supply.
Historic Fact: Long before European settlers came to the Americas, Native Americans – specifically the Iroquois people – had been transforming maple sap into syrup for generations. They pioneered the tapping technology that drew sap from the maple trees, as well as the processing techniques to take it from fresh sap to syrup and sugar crystals.
Join us anytime in Manchester, VT to TASTE and purchase the locally made liquid gold. Many of our area’s restaurants feature maple inspired dishes and cocktails on their seasonal menus.
Maple Experiences
JK Adams
Throughout March, they will also be offering samples of various syrup flavors at their VT Maple Syrup tasting station including Cinnamon Infused Maple Syrup, Runamok Sparkle Syrup, Dorset Reserve Bourbon Barrel Maple Syrup, and Wood’s Maple Syrup.
Aunt Bonnie’s Natural Remedies & Gift Shoppe
In celebration of sugaring season, Aunt Bonnies is featuring VT maple CBD candies for purchase through the month of March. Limited quantities available.
Barrow’s House Restaurant
Dine at the Barrows House Restaurant + Bar and enjoy one, or both of their entrees celebrating maple season. Indulge in their dry-aged pork chop with maple caramelized onions or delight in the Salmon w/maple beurre blanc. Finish off this fabulous meal with classic Vermont maple waffle sundae. Don’t forget to try their specialty cocktail, the smoked maple old-fashioned.
Danforth Pewter
Although they don’t sell maple flavored products, Danforth embraces the year-round maple experience with unique hand-crafted maple leafed frames, ornaments, earrings, and gifts. See their complete selection in store or online at Danforth Pewter.
The Spa at The Equinox
Vermont Maple Sugar Scrub | $180, 50 Minutes
Tapping into our trees and your senses, come and experience our locally made Vermont Maple Sugar scrub, applied with care to deeply exfoliate and rejuvenate your skin. We’ll finish with Privai’s Ultra Rich Body Butter, which will leave you feeling soft, hydrated, and springtime ready. (Pro Tip: Add on our Maple Sugar hand or foot scrub, $25!)
Book Two & Save
We’re celebrating stick season with spa savings! For March and April, we are delighted to offer a 20% discount when you book any two (2) services. Bring a friend or treat yourself.
Dorset Bakery
Serving breakfast and lunch seven days a week, you will always find Vermont Maple Syrup on the menu. From fresh baked croissants, to Vermont bacon and homemade sausage and bagels, breakfast is a great way to start the day. Plus, with fresh baked goods daily, their artisans are cooking up Maple-inspired delights. You can also find locally made VT Maple products including Vermont Maple Syrup, Maple snacks (packaged), Maple moose pops, Maple candies, Maple cooking & baking spices/mixes.
Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home
Experience the enchanting onset of the sugaring season at Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home, as you embark on a nostalgic journey through time. Meander along the captivating “Maple Trail,” seamlessly connecting the farm in the Dene with the estate nestled atop the hill. Delve into the past as you traverse a 3/4-mile pathway winding through the estate’s sugar bush, where majestic trees yield their liquid gold through tapping. Upon completing your expedition, be sure to explore the Museum store and indulge in the exquisite syrup crafted from the sap collected from the estate’s very own sugar bush.
Smuggler’s Notch Distillery Tasting Room
Smuggler’s Notch is offering tastings of their Barrel Aged Maple Syrup, which comes in 3 delicious flavors: Bourbon, Rum, and Rye. If you like what you sampled, they are offering $5.00 OFF per bottle of their 375ml Barrel Aged Maple Syrup. They also have Maple Gin, Maple Bourbon, Maple Cream Liqueur, and Bourbon Maple Cream Liqueur available for tastings and sales as well.
Reluctant Panther Restaurant
Enjoy dinner at The Reluctant Panther Restaurant featuring contemporary American cooking in a relaxed yet elegantly upscale atmosphere. With an emphasis on locally sourced products, our Chefs create a sophisticated dining experience. In celebration of maple season try their signature Maple Crème Brûlée, served with bourbon whipped cream & a sweet and salty pecan-cherry cookie.
Mother Myrick’s Confectionery
Known for some of the best confections in all Vermont, Mother Myrick’s celebrates the season with some delicious maple flavored desserts and delights.
– Vermont Harvest Cheesecake: the original, award-winning Vermont Maple Cheesecake.
– Maple Walnut Fudge: full of maple flavor and a Vermont classic.
– The Tea Cake: moist apple cake with a maple glaze.
– Maple Walnut Brittle: crisp walnuts throughout the luscious maple brittle.
This is just a sampling of items available. Stop in the store or shop online.
Johnny Seesaw’s at Seesaw’s Lodge
Taste the flavor of the season and indulge yourself at Johnny Seesaw’s Restaurant offering their delicious maple-glazed half chicken throughout March. Or stop in at the Hut (open on Fridays and Saturdays only) to enjoy maple reserve bacon pizza and/or maple bourbon wings.
EPOCH Artisan Galleries
EPOCH Artisans Gallery is the place where Art meets Maple. Find wonderful paintings and prints by artist Brian Sage, whose work depicts maple sugaring in times past. Renowned woodsmith Bob Gasperetti has a myriad of creations made from local maple wood – charcuterie boards, tables, boxes and other fine woodworking individually fashioned by him. Bowl carver Gene Felder has made unique, individually hand carved functional and artistic bowls from maple, butternut, and other trees cut from his own property. In addition, our photographers and other artists capture the beauty of Vermont’s Maple foliage in their artwork. EPOCH also carries local maple syrup from the Sugar Shack in Arlington, VT.
MERCK FOREST & FARMLAND CENTER
March Maple Meet Up
Join Merck Forest & Farmland Center for a 1 ½ hour sugaring tour. You’ll get a chance to see and experience their maple sugaring operations, from the trees in the sugarbush to the evaporator, to where they draw off the finished syrup. $10 pp, see dates and times below.
March 28 from 2:30pm – 4pm
March 30 from 1pm – 2:30pm
Spring Maple Open House Weekend
Saturday March 23 and Sunday March 24
It’s a celebration of the current season’s crop of liquid gold. Head out for sweet adventures in March, and stock up on your favorite sweet treat. With sugaring season in full swing, Vermont Maple Sugar Makers look forward to inviting you into their sugarhouses! See how our producers make their time-honored products with family and friends. Stop by participating sugar makers and partners, and learn all you want to know, from tree to bottle.
Some will even be offering pancake breakfasts, sugar-on-snow, sugarhouse tours, maple syrup, maple product samples & so much more!
Dutton Farm Stand
Well-known for their Vermont grown produce, including farmer-grown fruits and vegetables, cider, maple syrup, plants, and other unique local products. Whether it is fresh farmer-grown fruits and vegetables, cider, maple syrup, or plants, you’ll enjoy visiting a true Vermont farm experience.
Sugar Shack
Like many of the sugar houses on our tour, Arlington’s Sugar Shack combines tradition with technology to produce all four grades of Vermont’s liquid gold. Take a tour, sample hot syrup, and check out the Norman Rockwell exhibit while you’re there. Our maple open house weekend is coming up March 19 & 20. Free silver dollar pancakes, maple syrup samples, tours, and explanations in our Sugarhouse with LOTS of maple treats available in the shop.
Glastenview Maple Farm
Glastenview Maple Farm is a family-owned and operated Vermont Sugar House. Our maple sap is boiled over a wood-fired evaporator until it becomes Pure Vermont Maple Syrup. Our sugar season is typically mid-February until the end of March, but we are open year-round for tours and sampling of our delicious maple products.
Mance Maple
The Mance family has been carrying on the springtime tradition of maple sugaring for generations in a Vermont sugarbush that’s been cultivated for more than a century. We still make syrup in small batches over a wood fire, the old-fashioned way. If we are boiling, please feel free to stop in. Located at 217 Holliday Drive Shaftsbury.
Recipes…
Maple Me Crazy – from the Copper Grouse Restaurant
Nothing says Vermont quite like maple syrup! With a lower glycemic index than sugar, sweetening a cocktail with maple syrup isn’t just delicious, but also a healthier choice. Village Bonfire is a phenomenal Vermont distilled Bourbon finished with a dash of smoked maple syrup to further enhance the maple flavors. For a different twist, substitute Saxon’s Distillers Maple Rye for a bit of that classic rye pepperiness with a smooth maple finish. The perfect way to sip away a warm spring day!
Recipe – Combine
2 oz Village Bonfire or Saxons Maple Rye
.3 oz Vermont Maple Syrup
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
2 Dashes Orange Bitters
Garnish with an orange peel and a luxardo cherry
Maple Crème Brûlée from the Reluctant Panther Restaurant
Ingredients
1/4 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on top
1/4 cup Vermont maple syrup
1 1/3 cup heavy cream
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup egg yolks (from 6-8 large eggs)
Instructions
Pre-Heat an oven to 265 degrees.
1. In a medium pot heat up the sugar, maple syrup, cream and salt.
2. In a small bowl separate eggs keeping 6-8 yolks.
3. Once the cream mixture is hot (not boiling) slowly whisk, a little at a time, into the egg yolks, until both mixtures are combined and let cool down.
4. Pour cooled mixture into 4 ramekins or 4 small bowls and put on a baking tray.
5. Place tray in the oven with a little water on the bottom of the tray.
6. Bake until the sides are cooked and the center is just a little jiggly.
7. Pull out of the oven and cool down.
Sprinkle the top with sugar. Using a kitchen blowtorch, carefully torch the sugared top until nice and caramelized. Enjoy!
Where to Stay…
Hampton Inn & Suites
It’s the sweetest time of year in Manchester, VT!
Book a stay at Hampton Inn & Suites Manchester, now through May 1, 2024, and take advantage of their Maple Madness Package. Package includes 15% OFF their best available rate, a Maple Madness gift bag with Vermont-made maple syrup, maple granola, maple candies, shopping coupons, and more. As always enjoy their free “maple inspired” complimentary breakfast buffet with your stay. To reserve your stay, call 802-362-4000 and mention the Maple Madness Package. Offer excludes applicable taxes and is subject to availability at the time of booking. Other exclusions may apply.
Kimpton Taconic Hotel
Kimpton Taconic Hotel is pleased to offer guests a maple package to delight all the senses with something sugary and sweet called the Maple Madness Package.
Package includes:
• Overnight accommodation in a King Room.
• Vermont maple syrup and sugar scrub amenity from Hazel & Bee, a local artisan.
• $25 credit to Copper Grouse restaurant to enjoy a seasonal maple cocktail or dessert.
• Visit Dutton Berry Farm and Sugar Shack to watch sugar makers with over 20 years’ experience tap more than 3,000 trees to curate their farm-fresh syrup.
Available for stay dates through 04/30/24. To learn more, click the button below.
Dorset Inn
The Dorset Inn is offering special deals throughout March 2024 in celebration of Maple in Vermont!
Midweek (Sun – Thurs): $315 per night
Weekends (Fri & Sat): $670 for two nights
Each stay includes a standard guest room in addition to the following:
Breakfast for (2) guests / Lunch for (2) guests / All taxes & fees
Additional discounts for longer length of stays available as well as add- on options.
Ask us about the suggested Sugaring Farms to Visit during your stay. Subject to availability. Not valid during any holiday period. Cannot be combined with any other promotions or discounts. Valid on new bookings only.
Barrow’s House Inn
Stay at the Barrows House Inn in March and mention Maple Madness for a FREE maple gift at check-in. Plus, they are offering private or small group sugar house tours for their guests.
Wilburton Destination Resort & Vacation Rentals
Spring savings promo is 20% off lodging – king fireplace and Jacuzzi rooms starting at $175 midweek and $195 weekends. Ask about special offers for vacation rentals. Plus, through the month of March, guests will receive maple cookies in their rooms upon check-in.
Click the link below to lean more and book special offers.