I hadn't. It looks like water, and on first sip, tastes like it too. But slowly you begin to notice a teasingly gentle sweetness filling your mouth, growing louder, like a musical note that's being held. You swallow, and suddenly your mouth is humming with the taste of maple.
According to the back of the label, maple sap is a healthy tonic, a spring pick-me-up. The label also notes that the sap runs for just a few weeks in spring. After that it's gone until next year.
I bought this maple water at Guido's, in Great Barrington Massachusetts. But trolling around online, I see that maple water is sold pretty much wherever maple syrup's made (think Quebec). And that a new product, Verticalwater, is about to hit the shelves in stores. Apparently it's going up against coconut water as an American alternative. I'll take it any day.
Published on April 28, 2014 08:50