The Bourbon Cocktail That Needs A Maple Syrup Upgrade Isn't Just An Old Fashioned

Not only is maple syrup sweeter than white sugar, but it's also much more complex, offering distinct floral, nutty, and caramel-like tasting notes. It's thus a perfect upgrade for the equally complex tasting notes you'd find in bourbon. In fact, maple is one of the most common tasting notes for bourbon. In an interview with Tasting Table, Chris Cusack, a cicerone, sommelier, and the owner of a popular Houston bar, Betelgeuse Betelgeuse, confirmed that "maple and bourbon go great together."

"The natural temptation is to use maple syrup and bourbon to create an old fashioned," for which he gives you a recipe that blends 2 oz of bourbon, black walnut bitters, and 1-2 barspoons of "good Vermont maple syrup." We like this Vermont maple syrup from Hidden Springs. You can also use those same barspoons of maple syrup as a sugar cube swap in our smooth old fashioned recipe or this smoked old fashioned.

The old fashioned may be the most iconic bourbon cocktail, but the Manhattan could also benefit from a maple syrup upgrade. "You could also do a great Manhattan (my favorite cocktail) by splitting the base with 2 oz total of rye and bourbon (something stout like Knob Creek), and .75 oz of sweet vermouth with a bar spoon of maple syrup," Cusack suggested. If maple syrup isn't enough of an upgrade, "this [Manhattan] would also be great with the addition of some smoked cherrywood," he added. You can smoke cherrywood over the cocktail glass using this cocktail smoker kit from Aumpkin.

Not only does maple syrup pair perfectly with bourbon, but it's also a great addition to other complex spirits. You can thus expand your fall repertoire of maple cocktails to include gin, vodka, rum, and even tequila.

Maple will make a rich and complex sweetener for a spicy and herbal ginger cocktail like this easy Moscow mule or a fall-inspired ginger and tequila punch with pomegranate juice, lime, and rosemary. Use maple in a rum-spiked apple cider cocktail with a squeeze of lemon juice to balance the sweetness. Gin's floral notes will also pair well with maple syrup; you could make the ultimate floral cocktail out of gin, maple syrup, elderflower cordial, lemon juice, and soda.

That said, if your sights are set on bourbon or whiskey cocktails, maple syrup makes a great sweetener swap in a tangy bourbon smash, shaken with egg white for a frothy top. You can also use Chris Cusack's formula of bourbon, walnut bitters, and maple along with coffee liqueur to spike a cold brew. For a whiskey cocktail that'll warm your bones, try swapping honey for maple syrup in this warm and cozy Hot Toddy recipe. If you're in the market for a cocktail shaker, try this one from Luckygoobo.