The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist
from Cocktails & Crime
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In 2012, a routine inventory check at a warehouse in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, Quebec, turned up barrels of water where syrup from the Quebec Maple Syrup Producers Federation's strategic reserve should have been. The Supreme Court of Canada later described a theft of 9,571 barrels worth over eighteen million dollars. George prepares a Maple Leaf cocktail while tracing the evidence behind Quebec's great maple-syrup theft: how the syrup was swapped for water and moved through a network of intermediaries and buyers, what published reporting alleges about the people around the warehouse, and how Richard Vallières's 2016 conviction turned into a fight over his fine that ended at the Supreme Court of Canada in 2022. We keep court findings, the Federation's statements and reported allegations separate, including recovery figures the sources don't reconcile. In the glass: George's modern Maple Leaf variation with 2 oz Canadian whisky, ½ oz maple syrup and ½ oz fresh lemon juice.
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