22 Summer 2025 | edibleseattle.com Puffs of steam pour out of an evaporator, through several chrome columns and into the cold winter air as I enter the sugar barn, where Neil McLeod is hunched over a vat of boiling tree sap. This barn is where the magic happens: the team at Neil’s Bigleaf Maple Syrup collects and cooks down this year’s harvest of Washington-grown maple syrup. Yes, you heard that right. The journey to uncover this local treasure led me to Acme, a small town of only a few hundred residents, tucked in the picturesque countryside of Whatcom County. The McLeod farm spans 200 acres, but it’s a select 10 acres where old-growth maple trees flourish near a gently flowing creek that draws me. These aren’t just maple trees: they are Acer macrophyllum, the magnificent bigleaf maple, a species that was thought unsuitable for syrup production for years. Neil McLeod is proving conventional wisdom wrong, one delicious bottle at a time. From pastime to production As Neil stirs the bubbling liquid, ensuring it doesn’t foam over, I ask him how he became interested in tapping maple syrup. “I needed something to add to my coffee,” he admits, a little sheepishly. It was a humble beginning, born from a simple desire. McLeod explained he originally kept bees for their honey but lost his hives one winter. He had heard about tapping trees for syrup and decided to give it a try, and what began as a hobby quickly blossomed. McLeod’s wife, Delight McLeod, sits nearby bottling finished syrup as we talk. “He used to come home with jugs of sap and boil it down on a propane burner,” she says. This initial method yielded around 40–50 bottles yearly, a precious stash shared with friends and family. But it was their son, Devin McLeod, who truly sparked the transformation. Now the business’s frontman, he shared a few bottles with friends working in local restaurants, most notably at Seattle’s renowned Canlis. The response was immediate and enthusiastic. FROM SAP TO SYRUP Tap into the magic of Acme’s bigleaf maple groves WORDS BY MARYROSE DENTON Neil McLeod walks through the maple woods. Bigleaf maples prefer growing along stream beds, and their roots stabilize the soil, reducing erosion. Image courtesy of Neil’s Bigleaf Maple Syrup
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