Somerskogen Sugarbush has begun a joint venture with Tom Slattery of JJ's Wine, Spirits & Cigars in Sioux Falls, SD. http://siouxfallswine.com

Tom found our business via a Google search for maple syrup producers and gave us a call. 

Along with his wife, Jean, Tom brought up a 53 gallon oak barrel that had just been emptied of Buffalo Trace bourbon, aged for 9 years. We did a taste test of various grade syrups to identify which barrel of our maple syrup would incorporate the bourbon oak flavor as the syrup aged.  We settled on the Amber Rich grade as the best choice. 

I tasted a sample at 2 months of aging, and this is going to be a terrific product! The syrup will be bottled in a 375ml unique Nordic bottle - more on this in a future post.   The bourbon barrel aged maple syrup should be ready in a couple more months, so again, . . . . we wait with anticipation!

Check back frequently to see what is happening in the sugarbush! 

   What a difference a year makes! Last year at this time we had already started making maple syrup and this year we wait for warmer weather. While we are nearly prepared, the weather remains too cold to get very excited.  Our 100 taps were put in February 9-10 and the evaporator has been reassembled.

Forecasts indicate warmer temps during the day in the next week  - spring is coming! Here is the latest graph from the weather service:

Now, . . . . .we wait with anticipation!

With the earliest start of maple syruping in February, we ended March 31 with a grand total of 544 gallons of delicious maple syrup. A new record for Somerskogen Sugarbush has been set! Every year has been highly anticipated and a bit mysterious - never knowing how the various weather factors would affect the sap flow. We were not disappointed this year! 

The maple buds began to swell a few days ago, and this means the season is over.  Though the sap will continue to flow, there is a chemical change in the sap and it would impart an "off-flavor" to maple syrup.  So, the season is over, cleaning begins, as well as bottling for orders.

Feel free to call (612-860-4403)or email us (dsomers@citlink.net) to reserve your supply of the 2017 allotment. If you prefer to pickup your order and avoid shipping charges, that can be easily arranged. You can still pay online and we'll refund the calculated shipping costs.