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.

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.

 
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!

We’ve got the solution: an email gift certificate that will arrive the same day. There’s no need to scramble—or even leave your house. Most online merchants have a gift certificate that will be sent within 12 hours.

We’ve got two special recommendations that range from as little as $5.00 to $500.00.

Gift Certificate #1: Olive Oil & A Tree

Here’s gift that’s sustainable, green and healthy. Everyone can use fine olive oil.

Nudo, a family-run cooperative of 12 artisanal olive oil producers in Le Marche,* Italy, offers a delightful idea: an Adopt-An-Olive Tree gift certificate, complete with delicious olive oil. Here’s what’s included:

 
The entire adoption program costs $109.00, plus shipping. It’s not inexpensive, but it is memorable! You may not be able to afford a villa in Tuscany, but you can own a little piece of the Italian countryside.

A digital gift certificate will be mailed within 12 hours, and a paper version will arrive with the first oil shipment. Order your gift certificate.

*Pronounced leh-MAR-keh. One of Italy’s 20 regions, it lies on the Adriatic coast, immediately south of Emiglia-Romana and west of Tuscany.

For $5.00 to $500.00, you can send a chocolate bar gift certificate that allows the recipient to customize his/her own chocolate bars. It’s chocolate perfection!

Just a few toppings you can add to the dark, milk or white Belgian chocolate bars:

The excitement of creating your own bars is part of the fun of this gift. Visit Chocomize.com. See our review of Chocomize bars.

Christmas quesadillas!

The idea comes from Red’s All Natural, makers of burritos and quesadillas.

Keep a box of the quesadillas in the freezer. Then, heat them (the microwave works fine) and top with green guacamole and red cherry or grape tomatoes, halved.

If you don’t have guacamole, try fresh green herbs, spinach or other greens, or for a fusion dish, pesto. For the cherry tomatoes, you can substitute sundried tomatoes, red bell peppers or sliced roasted peppers (pimentos).

Red’s All Natural quesadillas are crafted with antibiotic and hormone-free meats, fresh veggies, beans and spices. The four flavors include bean and cheese, buffalo chicken, pulled pork and steak. Learn more at RedsAllNatural.com.

Feliz Navidad!
  

If you don’t know how to open a bottle of Champagne, it can seem daunting. But it’s really quite simple:

 
Just watch this video. You’ll also see the correct way to pour Champagne.

Do you know the different types of Champagne?

Find a handsome tin and fill it with
something delicious! Photo courtesy
Teavana.com.

An easy way to treat people of all ages is with a gift tin filled with something delicious. We like Lindt’s Lindor Truffles or miniature cookies, but anything the recipient might like will be appreciated.

You can purchase cookies, chocolate and tea in tins, but they’re covered with the manufacturer’s branding. For a tin that can be used anywhere—bathroom, bedroom, home office, kitchen—look for something special.

For people who drink coffee and tea (or amaretto), try a tin of Lazzaroni Amaretti—small Italian almond cookies with universal appeal. The “manufacturer’s branding” comment doesn’t apply here because the design is so classy. We love the bright orange tins and have repurposed them in just about every room!