Social media sensation finds home in syrup sugarhouse

Colourful entrepreneur Brooke Burgee recently returned to her hometown of Randolph, Vermont for a new venture. A key player in a national drinks trend on TikTok called “Dirty Sodas”, she has brought the fad which features soft drinks sprinkled with sweet treats to a family-run maple syrup sugarhouse.

A popular non-alcoholic drink in Utah, dirty sodas have become a craze across the USA and beyond. The trend has even reached the UK and become popular with young millennials and Gen Z. Bloggers, influencers and mixers share and swap recipes for sodas loaded with unusual ingredients like marshmallows, sweets, pretzels and peanut butter, with syrup often included as a sweetener.

With a love of maple syrup, the social media coach will now create quirky syrup-infused concoctions for visitors to the Vermont venue. Sometimes called sap houses and sugar shacks, sugarhouses are dedicated buildings where maple tree sap is boiled down to become concentrated natural maple syrup.

From mixologists to baristas, expert drinks makers are no stranger to adding maple syrup to recipes. Dark maple syrup is a favourite for hot drinks as it doesn’t lose its properties at higher temperatures, while hot maple syrup can give cocktails a kick.

Burgee will now sell her sodas in a shop onsite that features outdoor cabanas with picturesque rural views. The entrepreneur has a new puppy for her premises called “Maple” and will be giving away free popcorn drizzled with maple syrup to guests stopping by for a soda.