Words by Helena Nicklin
Every dad is different as is every son or daughter. What can you give him that showcases his personality or yours? Here is our pick of some delicious drinky gifts that will suit the wine lover dad, the beer explorer or spirits connoisseur. Bottoms up and Happy Father’s Day!
The Wine Lover
A selection of half bottles
If your dad is like mine, he will eye you suspiciously when presented with a 75cl bottle of wine as he’ll expect it’ll need to be shared! Show your dad his gift is just for him with a pair or selection of half bottles of wine. Louis Jadot makes some beautifully approachable Burgundian Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs (available in Tesco), or you can take your pick from a range by half bottle specialist, the Little Fine Wine Company.
The English Fizz Fanatic
Roebuck Estates Blanc de Noirs, 2015
Roebuck is one of the newest English wine estates who stormed onto the scene with their inaugural, classic cuvée 2014. This new wine from the Estate located near Petworth in Sussex, is made exclusively from hand-picked Pinot Noir grapes from the 2015 vintage that were grown in their Roman Villa vineyard. With its smart, hand drawn black and gold label, it looks as good as it tastes with an alluring perfume of red berries and apple skin with beautifully balanced notes of orchard fruit and brioche. Exceptionally poised and elegant. Drinking now but will keep for several years.
Find it for £45 from Roebuckestates.co.uk
Monthly Wine Delivery
Feel Good Grapes
How about a wine club where each bottle has been handpicked by the team for being not only delicious, but organic or biodynamic and sustainable too! Feel Good Grapes are keen to only work with producers who understand their impact on the earth and they are so dedicated to the cause that they also offset the carbon footprint from all their deliveries AND plant a tree for every bottle of wine sold. The buying team are expert tasters too, so you can feel extra good about the wines you're drinking.
From £20 a month to £200 at Feel Good Grapes
The Gin Genie
Fifty Pounds Gin
This super smart bottle houses a rather exceptional London Dry Gin. Triple filtered, it’s incredibly smooth with a range of complex flavours that jump out, as if wrapping the juniper in a delicious, scented scarf from sage to lemon peel, gentle spice and liquorice. The name alludes to the 1736 Gin Act in London, when if you wanted to produce and sell Gin, a 50 pound tax was levied. It’s not surprising many went underground!
RRP £34.45 from Master of Malt
The Beer
The Original Small Beer Company
The Small Beer Company have brought back the old tradition of Small Beer, which used to be drunk instead of water as it was safer, back in the London Streets of the 1700s. Brewed to a maximum of 2.8 percent as it always used to be, Small Beer is isotonic with trace elements left in rather than dehydrating so it’s actually rather good for you (can we say that?!) There are four styles to choose from: Lager, Session Pale, Steam and Dark Lager, but you can also try a handy four pack of 330ml bottles - and it makes the perfect gift.
Find the gift pack for £15 from the originalsmallbeer.com
The Spirits Aficionado
Glencairn Crystal Glassware
The ‘Glencairn’ has become to-go to glass not just for whisky, but most neat spirits nowadays. Endorsed by the Scotch Whisky Association, its unique shape was crafted to allow the fullest appreciation of the whisky from the nose to the palate.. The glass now comes in many styles, uncut or hand cut, a price that will suit all budgets. Enter the code DADSDRAM20 to receive a Father’s Day 20% discount too!
RRP from £6 a glass, go to Glencairn.co.uk
The Cognac Connoisseur
Cognac Frapin Millésime 1992 -26 years old
With a limited release of just 3000 bottles, this stunning 1992 vintage is the latest addition to Frapin’s collection of rare vintage cognacs, where it has been gently ageing in the dry cellars on the Frapin estate. Bright in colour with an elegant, floral nose and palate of prune, apricot and liquorice, this is an elegant, complex cognac and an excellent ambassador of the Frapin house style.
Find it for from £145 to £160 from Master of Malt
The Rum Romantic
Drum & Black Spiced Rum
The new generation of dark rums on the scene are to die for and England is knocking it out of the park with some new brands! Dad will love this one from Drum & Black with its eye-catching bottle and brooding, sweet notes of coffee bean, vanilla, honey, dark chocolate and orange peel. Try it alone over ice or as a ‘Mule Noir’ with a sprig of mint and some ginger beer (The team recommend Fentimans).
Find it for £33.75 from Master of Malt.
The Whisky Collector
Buffalo Trace Bourbon
Buffalo Trace is a much-loved, American distillery that has been making Bourbon whiskey the same way for more than 200 years. It has a deep, rich, amber colour with a complex aroma of vanilla, mint and molasses. Sweet but not cloying, with notes of brown sugar and spice, subtle oak, toffee and dark fruit, it’s a warming, easy-going whiskey with a long, smooth finish. There’s a competition too! You can enter your father to win a Buffalo Trace home bar! See their social platforms for details @BuffaloTraceUk.
Find the whiskey for £23.99 from Master of Malt.
Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 14 Years Old
Glenmorangie is one of our all time favourite Scotch distillers and is renowned for pioneering the art of extra- maturation. For this single malt, the whisky is first aged in bourbon casks, then finished in ruby port pipes and barriques from Portugal. Quinta Ruban is a bold and velvety, 14-year-old Highland whisky, with unctuous flavours of orange and dark chocolate.
Find it for £49.95 from Master of Malt
John Crabbie & Co, single cask 1994 25-Year-Old Island Malt (247 bottles only)
SPLASH OUT! Appealing to top-end collectors particularly, this special, sherry-cask whisky is dark gold, with rich notes of fruitcake, orange peel, dark chocolate and smoky spice. It comes with its own elegant presentation box too. Distilled at the Tobermory Distillery, the Crabbie 1994 Island Single Malt has been matured for 25 years in an ex-sherry hogshead. Each bottle is non-chill filtered, naturally coloured and bottled at 46.2% ABV.
RRP £300. Please email john.kennedy@johncrabbie.com for enquiries.
For more drinks round ups, check out Best Bang for Buck Sipping Bourbon, The Best Wines to have Chilled and 7 Great French Rosé Wines for Summer.