They're Here!

For those of you who may have been wondering, we did end up placing a group order for some BLiS Bourbon Barrel Matured Organic Maple Syrup. It took a few days to organize the order, but when we finally did James, at Mikuni Wild Harvest's Vancouver office, was more than happy to place the order for us. And lickety-split, there they were, on our very doorstep. A whole box of these beautiful bottles. At just under $30/750 ml bottle plus shipping--when the going rate for premium Quebec maple syrup is around $6/540 ml can--there's no question that this bourbon barrel-matured maple syrup is an indulgence, even an extravagance,* but as soon as we cracked our bottle open and refreshed our memories we were glad we'd shelled out. I've taken a few little nips over the last 24 hours, and every time I do that Batch #348 surprises me--I think I'm ready for its smokiness, its rounded caramel notes, and then... it catches me off-guard again. Of course, we're pretty much the ideal targets for the people at BLiS: we love high-quality maple syrup and high-quality bourbon. We're not sure where to keep this bottle, both because of the way it looks and the way it tastes: the pantry? the liquor cabinet?

Anyway, if we've piqued your curiosity, you can contact the good people at Mikuni Wild Harvest here.

Oh, and this doesn't mean we're retracting our Maple Syrup Challenge. The race is still on.

aj

*Then again, Stelio tells us that 375 ml bottles were selling at Charlie Trotter's for about $30 (U.S.), so according to some our order might even count as a steal (as absurd as that may seem).