Six Runamok bottles lined up on a weathered wooden sugarhouse bench with steam and a sugar maple forest in snow behind, one bottle catching the light with visible shimmer

Runamok Maple Guide: From Vermont Sugarhouse to Rye Barrel

Published 9 Sep 20264 min read

Filed under Maple Syrups Runamok Vermont

Runamok, from northern Vermont, sells maple syrup the way a small distillery sells whiskey. There is a reserve bottling of the season's best runs, and there are syrups rested in rye and bourbon barrels. Others are infused with cinnamon and vanilla, coffee, ginger root, cocoa bean or smoked chili pepper, and one shimmers. It treats syrup as an ingredient with range, and it is one of the Vermont sugarmakers named in the maple syrup guide.

The founders

Laura and Eric Sorkin spent ten years as organic vegetable farmers in Vermont before they began tapping their own woods in 2009. They sold their syrup on the bulk market until 2016, when they launched their own retail brand. The company describes the pair as transplants to Vermont, one with a culinary background and the other with an entrepreneurial streak. That mix shows in the line, which is built around how a cook or a bartender uses syrup as much as around its grade.

Where the syrup comes from

Runamok's own sugaring operations are in Cambridge and Bolton in northern Vermont, and the company also buys syrup from more than 30 Vermont family farms. The company says demand long ago outgrew what its own operations could supply.

The bottles

Sugarmaker's Cut (shop Sugarmaker's Cut). The flagship: certified organic, unflavored, a full-bodied syrup the company presents as the best of the season. During the spring boil, the sugarmakers mark the batches where the flavor peaks and set them aside for this bottling. This is the everyday bottle for pancakes, oatmeal, yogurt and a glaze on roasted vegetables.

Sugarmaker's Dark, wood-fired (shop Sugarmaker's Dark). A late-season syrup from smaller Vermont sugarmakers who boil over wood-fired evaporators. The company describes it as dark and bold, with notes of deep caramel and coffee. It suits glazes on pork, squash and salmon, baked beans and barbecue sauce, and it works in the Maple Old Fashioned from the maple cocktails guide.

WhistlePig rye whiskey barrel-aged (shop WhistlePig barrel-aged syrup). Syrup rested in freshly emptied barrels from WhistlePig in Shoreham, Vermont, until it takes on oak, caramel and the spice of rye. The company suggests it on breakfast, in an Old Fashioned, over ice cream or as a glaze for roasted vegetables. It also suits a roasted duck breast, or pancakes for an adult who has earned them.

Sparkle Syrup (shop Sparkle Syrup). Pure maple syrup infused with edible pearlescent shimmer. The shimmer is food-grade mica, which the company says adds no texture or flavor. Its jobs: children's pancakes, a spoonful stirred into sparkling wine or sparkling tea, a winter party table like the one in the hot chocolate bar guide, and any gift meant to make someone laugh.

The infusions are Runamok's widest range: cinnamon and vanilla, coffee, ginger root, vanilla bean, cocoa bean, a smoked-chili Hot + Spicy and seasonal releases such as pumpkin spice (shop the maple collection). A second barrel-aged syrup, rested in bourbon barrels, sits alongside them.

Which bottle for which job

The table sorts the bottles by job, using the producer's own descriptions alongside the uses above.

Bottle	In the producer's words	Kitchen job	Bar job
Sugarmaker's Cut	Reserve of the season's best, certified organic	Pancakes, oatmeal, yogurt, roasted vegetables	Any drink that calls for plain maple
Sugarmaker's Dark	Late season, wood-fired, deep caramel and coffee	Glazes, baked beans, barbecue sauce	Maple Old Fashioned
WhistlePig barrel-aged	Rye spice, caramel, mild oak	Ice cream, duck, roasted vegetables	Old Fashioned in place of sugar
Sparkle Syrup	Edible mica, no added texture or flavor	Children's pancakes, desserts	A spoon in sparkling wine or tea
Infusions	Cinnamon and vanilla through smoked chili	Matched to the dish	Matched to the spirit