Maple Leaf Cocktail

Canadian whisky, lemon, and maple syrup — the Whiskey Sour given maple, the harvesting technique taught to French colonists by Indigenous peoples.

The Maple Leaf Cocktail is a specifically Canadian-identified whiskey drink combining Canadian whisky or American bourbon with fresh lemon juice and pure maple syrup — structurally a Whiskey Sour whose sweetener has been replaced with Canada's most internationally recognized agricultural export. The maple leaf has been Canada's national symbol since its adoption on the Canadian flag on February 15, 1965, replacing the previous Canadian Red Ensign; the maple leaf emblem on the flag was designed by graphic designer Jacques Saint-Cyr based on a stylized eleven-point leaf form. Maple syrup has been harvested in Canada for centuries before European contact: Indigenous peoples of the northeastern woodlands, including the Haudenosaunee, Algonquin, and Anishinaabe nations, developed the practice of making cuts in sugar maple (Acer saccharum) bark to collect sap and boiling it into syrup, teaching the technique to French colonists in the 17th century. Canada produces approximately 70-75 percent of the world's maple syrup, predominantly in Quebec. The Maple Leaf Cocktail's combination of Canadian whisky and maple syrup creates a drink of specifically national character.