Comment by nick__m

What's the grade of the maple syrup you tried ? (the new grading system is stupid everything is grade A with a color name)

In my opinion,

The A golden is light and subtle, I don't know what it's for; it's the variety we sell in tourists, and to peoples that likes fancy bottles and higher prices!

The A amber is great as a condiment in small quantities, for pancakes it's the best.

The A dark is the best for cooking deserts.

And the A very dark is my favorite for cooking meats like ham and ribs.

So if you only tasted the A golden I can see why you would prefer the fake syrup if you were raised on that stuff. But I would be surprised if you prefer the fake stuff to the A dark.