Here's How Much It'll Cost To Take Home One Of Costco's Maple Syrup Barrels

Do you remember when social media reported that Costco put a whole barrel of Jack Daniel's up for sale? More recently, Costco-ites have been gooped, gobsmacked, and bewildered by yet another commodity that nobody technically needs by the drum ... and, yet, here we are. As seen on Reddit, opportunistic Canadian buyers have the opportunity to score a 55-gallon barrel of maple syrup for the low, low price of $2,499.99 CAD. As of this writing (given the fact that currency conversions fluctuate), that's $1,827.75 in U.S. dollars. 

Lest you think this is an isolated incident, another Reddit maple syrup drum sighting happened two years ago in Quebec for the same price ... yay for beating inflation, we guess? We previously covered the fact that Costco sources its Kirkland Signature maple syrup from Quebec, but no word on whether the condiment in the little plastic jug (which has a flawed design, by the way) is the same as in the white metal barrels. For those not fluent in "freedom units," 55 gallons is also over 208 liters!

Predictably, Reddit had the absolute most to say about this unique and unexpected offering. "I'll wait until I see the .97," one comment cracked, referring to the indicator that Costco has reduced an item's price for clearance. "Would hate to be an Instacart driver when someone orders one," another commenter snorted. "Always wanted to bathe in maple syrup," one ironic comment gushed. (Well, at least we hope it was ironic!) 

The obvious use for a ton of maple syrup is in food service. It turns out that the Canadian maple syrup drums were actually on display at a Costco Business Center, which caters primarily to commercial outlets. If you own a thriving diner or bed-and-breakfast where dozens of flapjacks are dished up to starving guests every morning, you might just have a practical use for this. 

Of course, practical use is practical, and not especially fun to riff on. We're now picturing a non-commercial scheme like those in which folks go in together to purchase a whole cow carcass for freezers filled with steaks and ground beef. Maybe you gather four score and seven of your closest friends and split a drum of maple syrup. Just BYOJ (bring your own jug).

Seriously, though. If you have a lot of maple syrup, you'll need to think bigger than just waffles. Maple wine is somewhat popular with the homebrew crowd, and a delicious spin off upon honey wine. You could put up bottles for all your loved ones and have them ready to go by Christmas.