First of all, if you’ve never had Maple Cream Liqueur, you don’t know what your life is missing. Add it to hot chocolates or coffee, or just drink it chilled, straight. You will thank me later. But which brand makes the best Maple Cream Liqueur? We did a head-to-head-to-head with the following three brands:
Boyden Valley’s Vermont Ice Maple Crème Maple Cream Liqueur
Boyden Valley, while most known for their Cambridge, VT winery, also produce a “Vermont Ice” line of products which includes ciders, brandies, and cream spirits including various Apple, Maple Bourbon, and obviously, Maple Cream Liqueur. They also produce maple syrup, including bourbon barrel aged maple syrups.
Vermont Distiller’s Metcalfe’s Vermont Maple Cream Liqueur
Vermont Distillers is out of West Marlboro, VT. In addition to Maple Cream liqueur, they also offer two bourbons: a Vermont honey and a Vermont maple bourbon; and other liqueurs including peach, blueberry, and raspberry (which we love to add to iced teas in the summer months). They also produce Catamount vodka and Ciriaco’s Lemoncello.
Smuggler’s Notch Distillery Vermont Maple Cream Liqueur
Smuggler’s Notch Distillery makes a wide array of spirits in Jeffersonville, VT, including vodka, gin, rum, bourbon, and, of course, maple cream liqueur. Many of their spirits use maple. They also sell barrel-aged maple syrups, including maple aged in bourbon, rum, and rye barrels. The Tipsy Pickle also makes pickles using SND’s spirits in the pickling brine!
Description
“Vermont’s Crème de la Crème”, a premium cream liqueur created by blending in Vermont Maple syrup and apple brandy produced from Vermont grown apples. Vermont Ice Maple Creme is extra smooth with an exquisite mouthfeel and pronounced maple flavor. Amazing on ice, in cocktails and with coffee. 15% ABV
Vermont Maple Cream Liqueur is made with the finest Vermont maple syrup, cream, and fine spirits. It is best enjoyed chilled, either straight up or on the rocks. It is also great to add to your coffee or served over ice cream. 17% ABV
Smugglers’ Notch Distillery’s Vermont Maple Cream Liqueur is an indulgent blend of Vermont’s flavors created in our unique SND way. We start with our extraordinary rum which is aged for 3 years in charred white oak barrels and finished off with double aging in SND bourbon barrels for an additional year to infuse complex whiskey overtones. We then marry this with 100% pure, organic Vermont maple syrup from a local sugarbush and fresh cream. Light whiskey notes greet you as you sip, and a satiny, complex confluence of creamy vanilla, maple, and toffee lingers mid-palate. It finishes with the mellow sweetness of the rum. Savor this decadent Vermont Mountain Spirit in coffee, over ice, in cocktails, or in the ultimate smoothie! 17% ABV
Price
$31.94 per 750 mL bottle
$26.64 per 750 mL bottle
$31.94 per 750 mL bottle
Taste
Boyden Valley’s Maple Cream Liqueur has arguably the deepest maple flavor. It is rich and includes the low notes of a dark maple syrup. For some, these lower notes are on the bitter side, which may surprise some given that maple is known to be sweet. Boyden’s hits with the hardest alcohol taste and does have a slight burn on the way down that is mellowed when adding this spirit to a hot drink.
Metcalfe’s Maple Cream Liqueur has a midtone of maple, offering up both rich and sweet notes that balance the flavor in between the other two brands. It does not offer a straightforward alcohol taste nor burn, and allows the maple to really do that talking.
Smuggler’s Notch Distillery’s Maple Cream Liqueur offered a very unique experience with very high, sweet notes of maple. We found the initial taste to be very alcohol-forward, preparing you for a burn on the swallow, but it surprisingly goes down very smooth with no burn at all. If you’re looking for deep, rich maple tones, this one is not for you – but if you want the high sweetness of a maple candy, SND has got you covered.
Verdict
While you really can’t go wrong with any maple cream liqueur, it really comes down to both personal preference and application. Drinking straight may be best lent to either Smuggler’s Notch Distillery or Metcalfe’s, while adding to a hot beverage may call for Boyden Valley (if the drink is already sweet, like hot chocolate) or Smuggler’s Notch Distillery (if the drink isn’t sweet, like coffee). Ultimately, our favorite out of the three is Metcalfe’s, followed by Smuggler’s Notch Distillery, followed by Boyden Valley – but we urge you to give this your own taste test and find which works best for your most common application for this spirit!