maple sugar moon

2 oz Blanco Tequila (*)
1/2 oz Cointreau (or other Orange Liqueur)
1/2 oz Maple Syrup
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a double old fashioned glass with fresh ice. Garnishing with a lime wedge or wheel would make for an elegant touch (garnish omitted here).
(*) I wanted to do 1 1/2 oz tequila and 1/2 oz mezcal but I ended up keeping things simple. Feel free to sub it in.

For the second drink in recipe R&D for an article on maple syrup, I considered how well tequila and mezcal's vegetal notes work with maple; this is not surprising since darker agave syrups and maple share some flavor similarities. Tequila and maple have been complementary in the Debbie Don't, Sable, and Illuminations, so I took that in the direction of a Margarita to make it accessible. This Margarita variation was named after the chapter on maple syrup in Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass book that I read for Camper English's Alcademics book club circa January 2022. It is the traditional name for the full moon that occurs around the time that the weather switches to warmer days followed by a return to freezing temperatures at night when the maple sap starts to flow. I considered splitting the tequila with mezcal to bring out notes evocative of the fires utilized to boil down the tree sap every March and April, but instead left it as an advanced suggestion in the instructions.The Maple Sugar Moon rose with maple mingling with agave on the nose. Next, orange and lime notes on the sip lit up a tequila and maple swallow.