With the 2026 World Cup underway, I asked Fritz — the AI mixologist built into Spritz — to build a cocktail for the Canadian Men’s National Team. The brief was simple: something that tastes like Canada. Fritz landed on Canadian whisky and maple syrup, which, in retrospect, was the only reasonable answer.
The Rye and Maple Smash is built in the glass — or shaken, if you want the maple to really integrate — with mint and lemon juice muddled in first. The result is sweet, herby, and cold in a way that’s more refreshing than the ingredient list suggests. Fair warning up front: this one leans sweet. That’s not a flaw. If you want a sweet cocktail, this is a great one. If you don’t, the fix is straightforward, and it’s at the bottom of this post.
The mint and lemon do most of the work of keeping it from being cloying. Muddle gently — you want the essential oils from the leaves, not the bitter green from over-working them.
“Too sweet? Add more whiskey. Or just lean in.”
On technique: the recipe is written as a built drink, but shaking is better. Maple syrup doesn’t incorporate into cold liquid the way simple syrup does — a quick hard shake fully emulsifies it and the drink is noticeably more cohesive. Built works too, especially if you stir well afterward. Either gets you there; shaken is slightly better.
Why this works
Canadian rye and maple is a natural pairing — the same reason bourbon and honey work, or Scotch and heather: they come from the same place and taste like it. Canadian whisky tends to run softer and lighter than American rye, which gives the maple room to come forward without fighting for dominance. The mint adds herbal brightness that keeps it from reading as purely autumnal, and the lemon juice provides just enough acid to balance the sweetness without turning it into a full sour.
Tips & variations
- Shake it. Maple syrup integrates better shaken than stirred in the glass. If you do build it, stir thoroughly with a bar spoon.
- Too sweet? Up the whisky. The spec runs sweet by design. An extra half-ounce of Canadian whisky pulls the sweetness back into balance without changing the character of the drink.
- Dial back the maple. 15ml instead of 20ml is the other lever — cuts sweetness without diluting the drink. Try both and find your ratio.
Make it in Spritz
The Rye and Maple Smash is in the Spritz app — tap the link below to open it, scale the servings for a batch, or check instantly whether it’s makeable with what’s already in your bar. If you want to riff on the spec, use Fritz to build a variation: give it the whisky-maple-herb profile and see what it comes up with.
Open this recipe in Spritz →
