It’s been a five-year hiatus since our last foray into Bourbon-aged maple syrup, and the upcoming Harvest Festival Week seemed an apt time to see its return. Beginning Wednesday, 16 Sept., we will offer 750ml resealable bottles of Bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup in two different grades: Delicate and Rich Amber. 

Our neighbors at Long Pond Maple Syrup in Greensboro, Vt., delivered the maple syrup in early June, and we immediately transferred each grade into freshly emptied WhistlePig barrels. There, the syrup rested for over three months before packaging.

John Kerr, his partner Liz, their four girls, and now their grandchildren—the expert taste testers—own Long Pond Maple Syrup. With over 30 years of experience as a sugarmaker, John has grown his operation from around 100 trees to over 1,500 trees on the 525-acre farm where LPM sits, bordering Long Pond. 

The Kerr family’s connection to Hill Farmstead goes back decades. John’s dad, Rod, grew up with Shaun’s dad, Brian; Shaun went to high school with John’s brother, Charlie; and Rod did some of the earliest plumbing work at the brewery.