Holiday gift guide 2025

Good morning,

Before the holidays bear down on us completely, I return once more with some of my favourite potential food and drink gifts for yourself or friends and family.

These Canadian items represent some of the best things I’ve tried this year. While some may be a little pricey, they are worth every cent.

For those readers who are older, you may be feeling that you don’t need another “thing” hanging about your home, which is why these items from the “experience economy” are the way to go. From food to drink to excursions, these are lovely alternatives to physical things. 

There’s a lot to cover so you’ll see part two of my recommendations next week.

Get your bibs on and let’s tuck in.

Ralf Joneikies, food and drink editor. [email protected]

SHOPPING

The 2025 Ottawa food and drink gift guide

While I explore a wide variety of restaurants and food and drink products throughout the National Capital Region, not everything makes it into the weekly reports. Sometimes I save some truly wonderful things for the annual holiday buying guide.

In a way, it can be considered our little gift to you. As can be expected, I don’t usually promote the conventional in these guides. 

We hope you enjoy these suggestions and stay tuned as there’s more next week.

Sol Farmers

Readers may remember my write-up on Sol Farmers when they operated out of their warehouse. They’ve now expanded their business to include a storefront at 2378 Holly Ln. Unit 108, making it Ottawa’s only dedicated Spanish food store.

Owners Alvaro and David may share a surname and a business but they’re not related. They are, however, hard at work on another project that they hope to launch in 2026: promoting Spanish travel through some packages they’re putting together.

Their selection of salchichon, Iberico hams, tinned seafood, olives, almonds, olive oils and vinegars, sweets, and more, is excellent. I like the fact that I can provide something unique for my guests as a preamble to Christmas dinner. 

You may find you also benefit from signing up for their newsletter, where you’ll routinely find weekly specials.

I particularly enjoy the Barrica and Redondo Iglesias products, but stop in and let the experts on hand guide you. With the warmth of the sun a distant memory, through these delicious foods, you can at least dream.

Nice Cans

I’ve shared this story before, but it’s worth repeating — as an immigrant kid to Ottawa, I was puzzled by what my schoolmates ate for lunch. I didn’t see the baloney (as we called it) on white bread as food because my lunches were radically different.

My mother often packed toasted dark rye bread with tinned Portuguese sardines in spicy olive oil for me to enjoy. No one ever traded their lunch with me, but I was fine with that — I loved that bread soaking up all that oil. That’s no exaggeration, and I love it to this day.

So when I came across Nice Cans by chef/entrepreneur Charlotte Langley, I reached out. She was kind enough to share the fruits of her latest project. If you enjoy tinned seafood, you’ll immediately recognize that these are first-rate products.

She offers three versions: smoked and salted, tomato and pepper and fennel with rosemary. All are delicious. And yes, I particularly enjoyed the smoked sardines with that olive oil. It’s such a treat with still-warm toasted sourdough.

Read all about her for a radical, in-your-face declaration on how they source their seafood and the humanist philosophy that guides the company. Proudly Canadian and I’m proud to share this with our readers.

Charlotte also has 15% off her products until the end of December and she’s kindly made Nice Cans available to Capital Eats readers. 

The first four people to submit a childhood story involving food (good or bad) will receive all three versions ($30 value) of Nice Cans. We will share your story in Capital Eats and send you the goods. Just write to me at [email protected] 

Vodkow Eggnog Cream

Almonte’s Dairy Distillery is a local success story. It’s vodka is an indispensable backbar staple for Ottawa’s bars. 

They’ve now released an Eggnog Cream for the holidays. There’ve been a number of these products in the market and I love that our local interpretation feels free of vegetable thickeners, which always gives a cloying mouthfeel.

It’s lactose-free and lightly spiced, but it still triggers all those Christmas memories. Sip it on its own, but mix it with rum or drop it into hot chocolate after a hike, feeding chickadees at Mer Bleue. It’s just very nice and comforting.

Fove 2 Ans Acerum

Fove Acerum is a product currently produced at a distillery in Bedford in Quebec’s Eastern Townships.

What is Acerum you ask? It’s a spirit made using maple sap called “buddy sap,” the last maple sap of the winter that is too bitter to use for maple syrup. Acerum is a trademarked term in Quebec in 2018 that was recently ceded to the Quebec government in order to attain IGT (Geographical) protective status. Only spirits made from Quebec sap and following exacting standards can be labelled Acerum. 

Founder and president of Fove Corinne Cluis has a PhD in microbiology. More than just science, brings an exquisite palate to her creations.

Fove 2 year Acerum ranks as one of my biggest spirit surprises in years. I will go so far as to say that I cherish it. From strength to mouthfeel, bouquet and harmony of flavours, it lands with an elegance and sophistication that belies its provenance. Then again, what are our preconceptions of this provenance? 

What’s mysterious is how it shows simultaneously the strident characteristics of Armagnac (made from grapes) and the fruitier profile of Calvados (made from apples). At 42% alcohol, it doesn’t exhibit heat on the palate but a soft and expressive stone fruit that broadens on the long finish.

There’s a lot of complexity that goes into the barrel work to create this spirit. I rank it as an essential buy for serious whisky enthusiasts and collectors of unique spirits. Even at $67 for 500 ml, you’ll want more than one bottle.

Prohibition Maple Liqueur

Prohibition Maple Liqueur by EDMN distillery in Aylmer is a singular spirit. I’ve never had anything quite like it and chapeau to the mind that created it.  The closest I can come to drawing a comparison is that it is in the profile of a very peaty Scotch like Laphroig. Only darker and a little more sweet. Interestingly, it’s not as sweet as I was expecting and I found the word "liqueur" almost misleading.

The smoky characteristic is very much there. But as in the best peated whiskies, it doesn’t dominate with the maple character. The experience is rounded out with a warming note and a ghostly hint of wintergreen on the long finish.

This is one for slow sipping, although I also enjoyed it in hot chocolate, a truly memorable experience.

It’s made by a process of smoking maple syrup using cedar. I found my bottle at the recent Museum of History Christmas market and was told that it's so popular that another very large Quebec-based distillery has been trying to get its hands on the recipe.

A truly exceptional example of the art of distilling. 

Honey Bee Elixir

With something named Honey Bee Elixir (LCBO) I was expecting something mead-like. I was wrong. 

Barrie-based chef Randy Feltis created this elixir and after a reported 65 attempts, settled on this recipe. 

Apart from the pleasure of creating something delicious, his motivation was to help encourage the growth of local bee populations. For every bottle sold, one bee is added to local hives. 

There are 44 different botanicals used in this creation. That means there is a little bitterness, but it is kept in check by the presence of delicious honey.

Both in appearance and flavour, it’s much more akin to the Italian cocktail ingredient Campari. You’ll immediately think of using it in a Negroni and you’d not be wrong. It makes for a terrific version of this cocktail, albeit one that is a little less bitter and a bit softer. In every other way, it doesn’t deviate much. 

I would also recommend this for use in a lemonade, with sparkling water or a sparkling wine for a spritzer. It’s a versatile ingredient worth having for your home bar.

The Basta Basta Kitchen

I had the pleasure of meeting Rosamaria D’Amico Durand over the summer when she reached out to announce that her Sicilian cookbook was now in its third printing. 

Durand, now in her 80s, is a woman of some accomplishments. There’s little doubt that it’s the inquisitiveness of her mind that keeps her younger than her years. 

She has had a career working for CODE and UNESCO and as the overleaf of her book tells us “...has cooked her way through Canada, Italy, France, Vietnam, Morocco and the U.S.”

With The Basta Basta Kitchen, the multi-lingual author gives us a fascinating history of Sicilian cuisine, tracing its roots back to Arab merchants who brought unique spices, fruit and vegetables to the island. For anyone who thought they understood Sicilian/Italian cooking, you’re in for a delightful and humor-filled surprise.

The recipes are straightforward and easy to use for the average home cook, with the sections (meat, seafood, vegetables, sweets etc) colour-coded along the top margins of the pages. It’s spiral-bound bound making for ease of use in the kitchen and the entire book makes a lovely package with its colourful images.

More than just a cookbook Durand, also shares stories and pictures of her Sicilian family. Through the recipes she communicates the importance of memory and culinary traditions. In its own distinct way this is a book about love.

Her son Stephen has an off-grid business in Quebec called Le Terrain which has recently officially been recognized by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada as a Dark Sky Preserve. The first such recognition in the National Capital Region. 

You may order copies of Rosamaria’s book ($39.95) by contacting Stephen at [email protected].

SPONSORED BY SAVVY COMPANY

Holiday Gifts starting at $25 — Perfect for Secret Santas & stockings

Celebrate the holidays with our collection of Canadian-made gifts starting at $24.99. Choose from single-serving bottles of Ontario wine, cans of craft cider or freshly roasted coffee — all hand-selected by Savvy Sommeliers.

Each small & special gift is tucked into a ready-to-give bag and includes a gourmet treat. These exclusive products aren’t available at the LCBO or grocery stores, making every gift feel truly unique.

Perfect for:
• Secret Santas & gift exchanges
• Teachers, colleagues & thoughtful neighbours
• Host and hostess gifts
• Stocking stuffers

Make your holidays 100% Canadian. Shop at our online Savvy Store>>

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