With a first-time entry, Sawyer Farm of Jaffrey walked away with the top honors at the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript’s 40th Maple Syrup Contest, which crowns the top quality syrup from local producers.
After two years away due to COVID-19, the contest returned to Bantam Grill in Peterborough. Judges Ben Watson, Roger Swain and Kin Schilling winnowed the top contenders down from the 14 entries from producers all over the region, and said it was a strong field this year. When it came down to the top five, judges said they were neck and neck for the top spot.
“That’s how it usually is,” Watson said. “We usually have to negotiate when it gets down to the last few.”
“They’re amazingly fine,” Swain said of the entries.
Alfred and Rachel Sawyer of Sawyer Farm said they were a last-minute entry into the contest, after Rachel spotted an entry form and asked Alfred, who is the main syrup-maker, if he’d like to enter.
“When I asked if he wanted to enter, he said, ‘You can.’ But by the time I got home, he’d picked out what he wanted to enter,” Rachel said.
The Sawyers have been producing syrup for 13 years, and this year produced about 100 gallons from 700 taps.
Alfred said he had a shorter season than usual, and made less syrup than he originally anticipated, but still had good quality of syrup, and picked out an amber-colored entry, since that’s what he enjoys the most.
“It’s exciting. It felt good when my wife texted me that we’d won. I’d be all for doing it again next year,” Alfred said. “I feel like a win every time someone comes to my sugar house and says ‘Mmm!’”
The People’s Choice Award, chosen by people who attended the contest and had the opportunity to try all the syrups in a blind taste test, was Alix Family Maples of Greenville, which was also the judges’ runner-up for the overall award.
The other top contenders were JP Stohrer of Francestown, whose syrup placed third; Somero Maple in fourth; and Mark Fernald of Peterborough in fifth.
Roger Somero, representing Somero Maple Farm, attended the tasting and said it was a strong competition.
“There’s some good stuff here,” Somero said.
“I think the variety is amazing,” agreed Wes Bockley of Hancock, who attended the tasting with his family.
“It’s incredible to have all these tastes of the region in one place,” said Bockley daughter-in-law Angela Tillges, visiting from St. Paul, Minn. “You don’t get to experience that often. It’s a real treat.”
Her daughter, Leona Bockley, the youngest People’s Choice voter, apparently agreed, as she noted down on her vote card “All of them,” after a thorough taste test of all 14 entries.
Scott Kemp of Maple Row Sugar in Rindge, who was an entrant in the contest, said Saturday he was glad to see its return, and particularly glad to know that several of this year’s entrants were doing so for the first time.
“It’s a dying art,” Kemp said of producing maple syrup. “Anything to keep it alive is a good thing.”
To purchase Sawyer Farm syrup, call 603-731-4369 to make an appointment at the Sawyer Farm sugar house in Jaffrey.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.