It tastes different!

[Trapper2]

My BIL and SIL visited the East coast last fall for the colors. For Christmas presents they brought me back a new Hydrometer, Maple candy and a small 4oz Maple leaf of syrup from a respected producer. In my humble opinion, the syrup definitely tasted sweet but it lacked the distinctive maple flavor that I'm used to here in Wisconsin. Granted, I only produce 7-10 gallons a year so I'm not an expert but I'm wondering what gives?

[Trevor5]

My guess is that "maple flavor" you are refering to is from boiling on a relatively open fire pit and getting the delicious smoke flavor in your syrup. Assuming your avitar picture is how you are boiling your sap. I love the smokey flavor that I get in my syrup, I also only make 6ish gallons a year, boiling on a cinderblock arch.

[Trapper2]

No Trevor. My Avatar is from years ago. I have a enclosed arch with a 6 foot stovepipe. I'm not talking a smoky flavor but a Maple one.

[Moser's Maple]

Maple can take on various flavor profiles depending the time of year it was produced, your production techniques, and most importantly your soil and mineral contents. What may taste as normal maple to you in Wisconsin could be viewed as a different flavor in other parts of the maple belt.

[GeneralStark]

What grade of syrup was in the purchased bottle? What grade(s) do you typically make?

I had some syrup from Wisconsin once and really lacked much flavor at all....

[esetter]

Im probably the most novice guy on here but , it seems to me the lighter the color (higher grade) the more sweet forward it is. The darker is more classic maple flavor to me. Im a dark amber or the old grade B fan myself. I can certainly taste a difference in the syrup I make down here and the syrup I bought in ontario.

[Clinkis]

There are SO many factors that can effect flavour mainly sap handling techniques and boiling methods. I think this has a greater effect on flavour then location IMHO. I’ve got many producers within a stones throw of my farm and our syrups all taste different. My next door neighbor’s syrup is so different in colour and flavour to mine you would think it comes from another continent. But they are both good in their own ways.

[Russell Lampron]

As others have said there are many profiles of syrup flavor and many things influence the color and flavor. Last year I bought a new truck and the dealer gave me a gift bag with NH made products inside. One of the things inside was a bottle of dark robust maple syrup. One morning I sat down to a pancake breakfast and was set to enjoy the flavor of some dark syrup as most of mine is golden and amber. What a disappointment! That dark syrup had no maple flavor at all, it was just sweet. My golden has more maple flavor.

A local producer decided to do a taste test last year for Maple Weekend. He had my golden syrup, his amber syrup, and some dark and very dark syrup from some other local producers. I did the taste test starting with the amber through very dark and then to the golden. To my surprise my golden had the most and best flavor of the four samples. If the flavors had followed the colors I shouldn't have been able to taste my syrup at all with the flavors of the dark syrup still on my pallet. Others that did the taste test walked away in disbelief too.

[Trapper2]

What grade of syrup was in the purchased bottle? What grade(s) do you typically make?

I had some syrup from Wisconsin once and really lacked much flavor at all....

The purchased that was given to me was Golden and mine is generally a darker amber. Like I said before, the purchased was very sweet but not with the maple flavor..
Thanks for the comments guys. Its probably just what you have grown up with over the years that become the "Normal".