At Sticky's, we're thinking about more than just how to make the best organic maple syrup we can. At the end of the day, its about making meaningful connections with beautiful people, and giving back to the planet from which we borrow. That's why the owners, John (Sticky), and Ben, stick around the farm stand to meet face to face with all who venture into our neck of the woods. Speaking of woods, our sugarbush is the living, breathing heart of our tradition, and we care for it as such. That means ecosystem first forestry, so you can taste the full spectrum of flavor nature has to offer.

Standing in the famous Stowe valley of northern Vermont, take a glance west to Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak, towering in the distance. Look east, and Mount Elmore will greet your eyes with green splendor, untouched by ski trails or radio towers. This is our sugarbush, the place where all of Sticky's famous maple syrup trickles out of each spring. Why a mountainside? Why not somewhere flat and lower elevation where the walking is easy and the snow isn't waist deep? Our high elevation means lower temperatures, and that translates to maple sap that stays fresher and sustains minimal microbial activity all the way to the boiler, imparting a cleaner, more pristine taste to our syrup. It also means gravity assists us with attaining all that sap, lessening our energy consumption and carbon footprint.

John "Sticky" Shannon's first maple sugaring season took place in spring of 1973. His grandfather had seen the light in his eyes when John talked about his adventures outdoors, and decided he was ready to learn the way of the sugar maker. Since that first taste of what nature had given him right from his back yard, little Sticky was hooked. Each year he sought to make better syrup than the last, constantly improving his method, and keeping things simple. His first season he made three gallons of maple syrup, and now, 50 years later, he is making over 1000 gallons each spring, and still loving every second.

Have you ever eaten sugar until you felt sick? So have we. However, some sweeteners can do more harm than others. Corn syrup is corn starch processed with acids and enzymes to make the cheapest sweet sauce possible. Nutritionally void compared to maple, it is stripped of most of natures goodies. This is in part due to 95% of corn producers using herbicides and chemical fertilizers in their crops.¹ Farming this way is entirely unsustainable. Your blood sugar suffers a greater spike after eating corn syrup as well. Maple syrup, on the other hand, is pure tree sap, boiled down to remove excess water. This means it is minimally processed, and contains thousands of anti-inflammatory plant compounds as well as a plethora of nutritional minerals our bodies need.² It also won't spike your blood sugar as fast as corn syrup or cane sugar, but ask your doctor about maple syrup if you have diabetes.² We never use chemicals in our maple production.