Funks Grove Maple Sirup featured on Illinois Made series

The Illinois Office of Tourism features Funks Grove Maple Sirup near Shirley, Illinois, as one of eight businesses in a new Illinois Made series.

According to an article in the Bloomington Pantagraph, Illinois Office of Tourism director Cory Jobe said Illinois Made contains videos, exclusive web content and travel ideas.

“Travelers really want to travel to a destination or a state and want to have a unique, authentic experience,” Jobe said […] “When you look at economic development, it’s really small-business owners who are driving the state’s economy and I like their passion.”

As well as Funks Grove Maple Sirup, the Illinois Made page includes a canoe maker, a farm-to-table restaurant, a craft brewery, a woodworker, a creamery, a glass maker and a handmade bicycle manufacturer.

Here’s a video about the series:

A product must be made in the state and be available for purchase at a shop or store for qualify for Illinois Made. There is no cost to the business owner to take part. Go here to see the Illinois Made page.

Funks Grove Maple Sirup (yes, the spelling of “sirup” is intentional) in a few years will mark its 200th years of bottling its maple sirup.

When the Funks settled the area in the early 19th Century, they couldn’t have envisioned their business idea blossoming into a 7th-generation entity now using some 6,400 taps from 3,000 trees to harvest more than 2,000 gallons of sirup each year. What started almost 200 years ago is now a glorious tradition for lovers of the Groves’ maple-rich bounty.

Visit the Funks family store in the town of Shirley, where you’ll discover a variety of take-home sirups, sweet candies, gift boxes and more. And you’ll also come to the realization that sometimes the old ways of doing things are still the most delicious. If you’re wondering why the Funks spell it “sirup” instead of “syrup”, you’ll need to stop by and talk to Debby, Mike or Sean. They won’t give away the family secret recipe, but they will share the tale of why the name Sirup stuck here in Funks Grove.

Here is the well-produced video for Funks Grove:

Funks Grove Maple Sirup sells out of its annually made batch of maple sirup by summer. (Sap harvesting typically begins in late January and February.). But the gift shop there — located off old Route 66 — features plenty of candies and souvenirs as well.

(Image of the Funks Grove Maple Sirup shop by Storm Crypt via Flickr)