GIFT OF THE DAY: Kanon Organic Vodka

December 24, 2011 at 6:46 am · Filed under Cocktails & Spirits, Giftable, Organic

In 1580, King Karl IV of Sweden built the Åkers Styckebruk foundry to produce cannons for the Swedish army. Along with the foundry, he built a distillery to make vodka for the workers (nice benefit!).

Over time, the distillery became privately owned and the largest distillery in Sweden. Nearly 300 workers produced more than a million liters of vodka annually.

After a succession of monarchs, King Gustav IV outlawed the private production of spirits, in order to reap the revenues via a state monopoly. The distillery was closed for more than 200 years. The monopoly was lifted in the 1990s and a new owner set out to revive the legacy. In 2010, the first case of Kanon Organic Vodka was shipped to New York.

The vodka is produced with 400-year-old traditional techniques in an artisan environment: The distillery employs just 15 people.

Kanon Organic Vodka makes a good gift at any time; but is especially easy to grab as a last-minute gift.

Photo courtesy Kanon Vodka.

WHY ORGANIC VODKA?

Organic vodka is a feel-good product—and not just because the vodka is delicious. At Kanon, the entire production process is not only organic, but totally sustainable.

Organic means freedom from chemical pesticides and other artificial ingredients; organic production means that the environment was not harmed in the growth and harvesting of the ingredients. More about organic agriculture and products.

Sustainable agriculture and manufacturing use environmentally and socially responsible methods of production. It preserves natural resources by choosing natural, recycled and bio-degradable products, bio-friendly cleaners, and solar power where possible. More information.

The superpremium vodka uses only the heart* of the distillation: The heads and tails are converted into ethanol to make environmentally-friendly biogas for local buses.

The only ingredients in the bottle are wheat and artesian water. The taste and character of the vodka are maintained in perfect balance, with no “burn.”

We keep our vodka in the freezer and drink it neat. Skal!

Learn more at KanonVodka.com

*Look at distillation as a bell curve. The distillate in the center (heart) of the curve is of higher quality than that produced at the beginning (head) or end (tail). The heads and tails can be re-distilled to get a second heart, but the heart from the first run is superior. The heads and tails, which are included in inferior alcohols, produce hangovers.

THE SCOOP ON MULTIPLE DISTILLATION

You’ve seen vodka claims: distilled three times…five times…50 times. Kanon Organic Vodka is only distilled once. Here’s why:

When the ingredients aren’t pure enough to begin with, when parts of the head and tail are included, then multiple distillations with charcoal filtration are needed to remove impurities. The impurities in Kanon are removed after a single distillation.

Multiple distillations also remove the taste and character of the vodka.

Skål!

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