Try a Maine Coaster, the delicious cocktail from the State of Maine

Fresh lime juice, fresh mint, maple syrup, and light rum. These are the principal ingredients of a Maine Coaster. A bit of club soda finishes it off. (The photo above shows enough to make several of them).

The inspiration of the Maine Coaster (which I, Phil, invented about 6 years ago) is the mojito. A mojito, as you know, is made from lime juice, mint, simple syrup, rum, and club soda. A Maine Coaster simply replaces the simple syrup with maple syrup. Although to make a really good Maine Coaster you also want to adjust the proportions slightly differently from those of a mojito. 

Try this:

4 mint leaves

3 oz lime juice 

2 oz light rum

1.5 oz Grade A maple syrup (or 'Fancy' grade works too)

1 oz club soda

a few ice cubes

Muddle the mint in the lime juice very thoroughly. Pour into an 8-oz glass, add everything else, and stir. That's it!

The goal is a drink in which you can easily taste each of the principal ingredients. If you find yourself saying "well, I mostly taste lime, but I _think_ I can taste a bit of maple" then you need to use less lime next time, or more syrup. As long as you can distinctly taste all four main ingredients, you have yourself an officially recognized Maine Coaster, and you may feel free to adjust the proportions to make it relatively minty or limey or rummy or maple-y. The recipe above makes for a rather strong-flavored drink, which is the way I like it. Obviously you can use more soda and less of everything else, and get a lighter flavor. That's the way they make them at the Nebo Lodge on North Haven, Maine, which is the only bar or restaurant where you can get a Maine Coaster at the moment. Unfortunately this is not a drink they can mix for you at your local bar, unless you bring your own maple syrup.

One thing that ought to go without saying, but doesn't, I fear: if you don't have maple syrup, you can't make a Maine Coaster and it is not worth trying. Using maple-flavored corn syrup is simply a waste of rum and lime and mint, whether it says "real maple flavor" or not. If it didn't come out of a maple tree, don't use it. 

Now, go make yourself a Maine Coaster and enjoy!