News from the Sugarbush: March Update + Bolton Crew Profile

By:  | | News, Producer Spotlight, Sugaring
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As I’ve said in a previous update this is backcountry maple: remote, quiet, dangerous, sometimes lonely, and always beautiful. This is what I believe to be the new face of maple in our current climate shift. Maple has become less reliable than when I was a kid. It always seems to come on around townRead More

Honey 101: What Is Raw Honey?

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Our raw honey is about as close as you can get to tasting honey straight from the bee hive… Seriously! This is special stuff. When we decided to expand Runamok into nature’s other exquisite sweetener, we knew we had to start with the highest quality honeys we could possibly source. We dove head-first into a two-year searchRead More

News from the Sugarbush: February 2023 Update

By:  | | News, Sugaring
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NEWS FROM THE SUGARBUSH: BOLTON UPDATE From David Aronson, Bolton Woods Crew Lead We are around 4,000 taps left from being done on the Bone Mtn section of Bolton. That will bring us around 44,000 taps out in 7 weeks of tapping, in what I can only define as a backcountry maple forest. It’s notRead More

Collaboration: Burlap & Barrel Smoked Star Anise Infused Maple Syrup

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Meet our Burlap & Barrel Single Origin Collaboration Series: Smoked Star Anise Infused Maple Syrup When the opportunity arose to do this original collaboration with our friends at Burlap & Barrel back in 2021, we couldn’t say yes quickly enough. Burlap & Barrel offers a massive array of beautiful spices, equitably sourced from all cornersRead More

Collaboration: Burlap & Barrel Royal Cinnamon Infused Maple Syrup

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Meet our Burlap & Barrel Single Origin Collaboration Series: Royal Cinnamon Infused Maple Syrup   When the opportunity arose to do this collaboration with our friends at Burlap & Barrel back in 2021, we couldn’t say yes quickly enough. Burlap & Barrel offers a massive array of beautiful spices, equitably sourced from all corners ofRead More

Tales from the Sugarbush: How 80,000 Trees Untapped Themselves!

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Tales from the Sugarbush: Winter 2018  What happens when you have to tap 80,000 trees, twice? This is what we mean when we talk about “drama” in the sugarbush. While we do our best to be prepared for every variable that the woods and weather may throw at us, there are some things we haveRead More

A Look Inside with Laura: The Sorkin’s Visit to a Caribbean Cocoa Farm

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Runamok co-founder, chef, farmer, and author, Laura Sorkin, takes us behind the scenes in this spotlight series, starting with our limited-release Cocoa Bean. The family and I had the good fortune to visit Trinidad and Tobago this past holiday. While we loved the people we met, the food, and beaches, it was a visit toRead More

Maple Syrup 101: A Look in the Toolbox

By:  | | Sugaring
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We have talked about how to tap a tree a few times here on our blog. This time around we thought we would get a little more granular and highlight some of the tools we use as a means of explaining what we do. Some are basic and others peculiar, but they all tell theRead More

Breakfast and Beyond: Our Favorite Uses for Runamok

By:  | | Bitters, Honey, Product Guides
Glaze Craze Both maple and honey lend themselves to some amazing glazes. They provide just the right touch of sweetness when paired with savory, salty, spicy, umami flavors that are perfect over meat, vegetables, noodles, and more. A few of our delicious glazed recipes: Broiled Salmon with Smoked Maple and Dijon Fried Brussels’ Sprouts withRead More

6 Easy Batch Cocktails for your Holiday Table

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Our favorite festive cocktails with a touch of Runamok maple sweetness and a whole lot of flavor – perfect to batch for hosting a holiday crowd or to enjoy on a quiet night in!   First Snowfall A collaboration with our friends at Blake Hill Preserves featuring our Runamok Coffee Infused Maple Syrup, this cocktailRead More

2022 Holiday Gift Guide

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The holiday season is upon us, and this year is certainly looking different than the last. In that time we’ve learned some valuable lessons that we won’t be quick to forget: how to find unique ways to stay connected with loved ones near and far, the importance of shopping small and supporting the local businessRead More

Join the Pie Party: Sweet and Savory Pie Recipes for Fall

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Can you name a more quintessential fall food than fresh baked pie? …Don’t worry, we’ll wait. There is nothing more iconically autumn than pie, aside from maybe apples and pumpkins, which are really just pies waiting to happen. Needless to say, we love pie here at Runamok. Thanksgiving pie, Christmas pie, weeknight dinner pie –Read More

Behind the Scenes: Infused and Hot Honey

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The years we spent honing our skills at infusing maple have been applied to this new category of honey with excellent results… WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RAW AND INFUSED HONEY? If you’ve been following along with Runamok honey, you’ve probably heard us tout the benefits of raw honey as “honey straight from the hive.” Infused honey,Read More

New Release: On the Hunt for Tupelo Honey

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  This spring, on our bee safari down in Florida, we met up with the Cantu family, who are one of the producers of our Florida Orange Blossom Honey. In addition to showing us around the orange groves, we had an incredibly special opportunity to follow them on a different mission: the pursuit of rare tupelo honey.   WHAT IS TUPELORead More

Honey 101: The Art of Beekeeping

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We went behind the scenes with our bee guide, Todd Hardie, at his home in Vermont last month to get a tour of a hive and learn the ins and outs of beekeeping.   WHAT GOES INTO A HIVE? We’ve laid out basic beekeeping terminology in our Honey 101: Beekeeper’s Glossary – a somewhat cheeky,Read More

Citrus Greening: What is it and how is it affecting honey?

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This spring, our co-founders Eric and Laura traveled with our bee guide, Todd, down to Florida to meet with our producer partners in the area to source a new crop of Florida Orange Blossom Honey (check out their trip in our Bee Safari video series here). Unfortunately, sourcing Florida Orange Blossom Honey this year provedRead More

Cheese and Honey Pairing Guide

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We are very proud to be based in a state that values high quality food. We routinely top the lists for “best-of” beer, our maple products are renowned, and we produce more excellent fruits and vegetables for a northern state than you might expect. But we are exceptionally proud of the cheese that is churnedRead More

Honey 101: Beekeeper’s Glossary

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The somewhat cheeky, highly anthropomorphized guide to honeybees.   Apiary (n.): a collection of beehives, also known as a beeyard. In most places, these need protection from bears, skunks, and other wildlife in the form of electric fencing. With all respect to Pooh, they are after the bee larvae more than the ‘hunny’, though youRead More

On Trend: Hibiscus is Having its Moment

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When we first began infusing bright, tart, tropical hibiscus into our traditional Vermont maple syrup it was a bit of a shock to many maple purists. Today – while still a novel idea in maple – hibiscus is finally getting the celebration we think it has always deserved! According to reputable sources like Forbes, Mashed, and the New York Times: HibiscusRead More

Easy Summer Cocktails & Mocktails

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Meet our favorite (and easiest!) three-ingredient summertime drinks… While our infused maple, honey, and cocktail collections are fabulous for elevating your food and beverages to new heights – not everything has to be so complex. We’ve spent years developing flavor profiles that are robust, bright, and balanced, bringing the flavor to you. Our syrups andRead More

5 Simple and Delicious Uses for Hot Honey

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We’ve taken hot honey to the next level… Forget hot honey that is one note, hot-for-hot-sake, and lacking depth and nuance. We’ve kicked it up a notch with a trio of hot honeys infused with bold and unique peppers geared toward a culinary palate. We’ve used our experience in infusing the finest ingredients into nature’sRead More

Father’s Day Gift Guide

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Father’s Day is right around the corner, so why not take a minute to send a sweet surprise to your favorite guy. From Barrel-Aged Maple Syrups, Hot and Smoky Honeys, to fun, easy-drinking Cocktail Mixers, we’ve got something for every father-figure in your life. THE RUNAMOK FATHER’S DAY GIFT GUIDE For all the dads, grandpas, father-figures, brothers,Read More

Feature: Vermont Business Magazine “Sky’s the Limit” cover May 2022

By:  | | News, Publications
Vermont Business Magazine Cover
Runamok is proud to be the cover feature of Vermont Business Magazine’s May 2022 issue: “Sky’s the Limit: Curt Alpeter, Laura Sorkin, Eric Sorkin, and Runamok.” We’re looking forward to what the future holds… “We’re really a specialty food company,” Alpeter said. “We started out in maple, but we’ve branched into cocktail mixers and intoRead More

The End of Sugaring Season: Pulling Taps

By:  | | Sugaring
Once the crazed rush of the sugaring season is over, we pull out all 125,000+ taps that took roughly seven weeks to put in. The difference with untapping over tapping is that it is less time sensitive, less cold and generally less stressful. When we start putting them in in January, there is always uncertaintyRead More

News from the Sugarbush: 2022 Season Wrap Up

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The season is winding down here in northwest Vermont. The sap is still running but there are signs of spring everywhere… Spring is here in Vermont, from red salamanders to the first ramps (wild leeks). The sugar maples have not yet started to bud but the red maples are about to burst with flowers. WhenRead More

Runamok Bee Safari

By:  | | Honey, Producer Spotlight
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How do we source our honey? On a Bee Safari, of course! Runamok’s founders, Eric and Laura Sorkin, went down to Florida in April with our bee expert Todd Hardie to meet with beekeepers, visit hives, and source the best raw varietal honeys nature has to offer. When we decided to add honey to the RunamokRead More

Honey 101: Why Does Honey Crystallize?

By:  | | Honey, Product Guides
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Whether you’re looking at a jar of raw Runamok honey or are just curious about the natural phenomenon, we’re here to help clear up the question of crystallization.  The carbohydrates in honey (i.e. the natural sugars) are what cause crystallization. Almost all pure honey, particularly raw honey, is naturally going to crystallize over time. TheRead More

Runamok New Flavor Contest 2022

By:  | | News
Runamok New Flavor Contest Thanks for playing! The ballots are tallied, the numbers are crunched, and the results are in…the winner of our 2022 New Flavor Contest is: PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN MAPLE SYRUP! Our R&D experts have been hard at work in the flavor lab to bring your top choice to fruition… OUT NOW – PLACERead More

Limited Release: Knotweed Raw Honey

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For many, the name Knotweed rings a bell, and not necessarily in a good way. A pesky invasive species that ecologists would like to eradicate entirely, this plant offers a surprising benefit to bees at a time when pollen is particularly hard to come by. What we found even more surprising was just how deliciousRead More

News from the Sugarbush: February 2022 Updates

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Temperatures are fluctuating and that means the sap has started to run! We’re back with our woods director, Scott St. Onge, for an update on how the early sugaring season is shaping up: With the warm weather, the sap has been flowing which has our woods crew switching gears from tapping (that is, putting spoutsRead More