Can I add some leftover syrup from last year into my final boil without quality loss?

[Ocelotsden]

I'm a hobby maker and only make a few gallons per season. I have a little over 1.5 gallons of 64.5 near syrup in the fridge which I'll finish boiling, filter, and bottle either tomorrow or Saturday. That's only about half of my usual due to weather and other issues.

That said, I have five or six 8-ounce bottles in my pantry leftover from last year that developed some niter in the bottom of the bottles which I don't usually get. Would it be a bad idea to add that syrup into this year's batch before I finish boiling it? I was thinking it would give me a chance to get rid of the niter when I filter again and freshen it up by re-boiling it. However, I won't do it if you more experienced folks think it will reduce the quality or have any other negative effects on this year's batch that I'm not thinking of.

Thoughts?

[Bricklayer]

Of course you can add it.
As long as it’s good syrup and there are no off flavours in last years batch.

[Ocelotsden]

Thanks. The one I opened tasted just like when it was bottled and there isn't any real color change either. I was thinking that in addition to being able to remove the niter that formed, that boiling it with the new stuff would kind of freshen it up.

[maple flats]

I think the answer will depend on what it was packed in, if glass, likely good to mix, if in non oxygen barrier plastic, you might not want to mix, those jugs tend to suffer some because they allow oxygen in, even though slight, it does make a difference. If your sales are slow enough that you frequently have jugs that have been packed for 8 or more months, consider using oxygen barrier jugs.