Sapling Vermont Maple Liqueur

Sapling Vermont Maple Liqueur is a 35% ABV (70 proof) maple liqueur from Saxtons River Distillery in Brattleboro, Vermont, made with locally-sourced Grade A Vermont maple syrup and aged one year in charred American oak barrels, in a 750mL bottle. Order it online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA — Vermont's famous maple syrup, reimagined as a barrel-aged liqueur.

• ABV: 35% (70 proof)
• Size: 750mL
• Production: Vermont maple syrup blended with ultra-pure neutral spirit, aged 1 year in charred American oak
• Distillery: Saxtons River Distillery, Brattleboro, Vermont (est. 2006)
• Inspiration: The founder's family Lithuanian Krupnikas (honey liqueur) recipe, rebuilt around maple

Vermont Maple, Rebuilt as a Liqueur

Sapling starts where Krupnikas — the spiced honey liqueur of Lithuania — leaves off: founder Christian Stromberg took his family's old-country honey recipe and rebuilt it around what Vermont has in abundance, swapping honey for Grade A Vermont maple syrup. The syrup is blended with refined ultra-pure spirit and then rested a full year in charred American oak, picking up vanilla and toast that a plain maple syrup never carries. This is a maple liqueur, not a maple whiskey — the oak aging gives it depth without grain-whiskey character.

Tasting Notes

Rich maple syrup up front with toasted oak, vanilla, and warm baking-spice notes from the year in charred oak. The maple is sweet but not cloying — the barrel time keeps it rounded — with a soft, lingering finish of maple candy and vanilla bean.

How to Enjoy

Pour it neat or over a single large cube to appreciate the oak work, or use it the way the distillery does: as a cocktail sweetener standing in for sweet vermouth, Triple Sec, or Amaretto. It transforms an Old Fashioned or a coffee cocktail, and pairs naturally with anything containing bourbon or apple.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Sapling is a maple liqueur — a blend of Vermont maple syrup and neutral spirit aged one year in charred American oak. It has oak character, but no whiskey base and no grain distillate.

It is bottled at 35% ABV (70 proof) in the 750mL size.

It works as a sweetener in place of vermouth, Triple Sec, or Amaretto — try it in an Old Fashioned, a maple margarita, or stirred into hot cider. Browse the Sapling shelf or explore more liqueurs at Del Mesa Liquor.

If Vermont had a signature cocktail ingredient, this would be it — order Sapling Vermont Maple Liqueur online from Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA, and taste maple country in a glass.