Somehow it didn’t occur to me when I was young (dad tended to buy his own I guess), but now that I’m way on the other side of 40, I think of alcohol as a really nice Father’s Day gift (unless of course your dad is a teetotaler or just doesn’t enjoy spirits). Beats ties and underwear, for sure.
And I know it’s hard to know what to get – unless dad has specific favorites. And even if he does, it can be nice to surprise him with something he might not have thought of by himself. So I’m happy to share a little bit about some spirits I’ve tasted recently and found very enjoyable.
Bourbon is often a favorite of guys. Try giving Angel’s Envy, a super-premium bourbon that’s aged 4 to 6 years in American white oak barrels and finished in hand-selected port casks for another 3 to 6 months. Wine Enthusiast Magazine awarded Angel’s Envy 98/100 points – its highest-ever rating for a bourbon. This is smooth enough that I can sip it straight as a nightcap, but it also blends nicely with whatever you like in the way of mixers. ~$50 Or there’s Angel’s Envy Cask Strength, which Paul Pacult of Spirit Journal named the “Best Spirit in the World,” giving it five stars. Or try Angel’s Envy Rye, another award winner that’s finished in hand-selected Caribbean rum casks. (Love their curvaceous bottles!)
This one’s even got a cool name for Father’s Day: Papa’s Pilar rum. It’s a premium rum crafted by artisans inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s spirit of adventure. It comes in Dark & Blonde versions and is made from fine rums from the Caribbean, Central America and the U.S. It’s both pot stilled and column distilled and is blended from rums up to 24 years old. Caribbean Journal 2014 called it “Best Rum in America,” and it won “Double Gold” at the 2013 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. I like to mix this with club soda, fresh lime juice and a splash of diet lemon-lime soda. A refreshing sip on a warm early-summer day. But it’s good even by itself, especially the dark version. ~$40 (Dig the chain-linked caps.)
Boodles Gin, strictly British-made with a blend of botanicals – sage, rosemary and nutmeg, but no citrus – that give it an understated aromatic nose and taste. Rumored to have been named after the head waiter at the world’s second oldest English private members club’s head waiter (esteemed members include Sirs Winston Churchill and Ian Fleming). Made from English wheat, it’s distilled in a rare Carter Head still in Cheshire, bottled in Essex and packaged in Scottish glass with labels from Wales. ~$24 (Serve dad his gin and tonic in butler-style white gloves…)