Walk into any liquor store and you’ll see hundreds of options. You can zero in on your dad’s favorite drink when picking a gift, or you can get creative and choose something he wouldn’t buy for himself. And for more great suggestions, be sure to check out the other categories in our Father’s Day gift guide.
Bulleit Bourbon
There’s something so American about a “frontier”-inspired bourbon that sounds like it can be shot from a gun. And this bourbon comes with all the backstory one would hope. Dating back to Louisville, Kentucky in the 1830s, Augustus Bulleit tinkered with a high rye content recipe until he mastered the perfect bourbon. But it was almost lost forever along with Augustus himself, who mysteriously vanished while transporting his precious barrels to New Orleans, never to be heard from again. Lying dormant for 150 years, the recipe found a new place to settle in our modern day. Built on a mash bill of malted barley and corn, we love a bourbon that also packs in the rye (28%). Spicy and bold upfront with an adequate burn from its 90 proof character, Bulleit Bourbon finishes dry and clean, with tones of maple, oak and nutmeg. Your dad may not may wear flannel shirts or build log cabins in his free time, but we think this bourbon will make him feel as though he’s still blazing new trails.
Rodionov & Sons Polugar No. 3
What exactly is Polugar, you ask? Obscure and mysterious, one would be amiss in mistaking it for vodka. Rather like the Russian greats themselves – Ivan the Terrible, Fyodor Dostoevsky and Anton Chekhov, who all imbibed it – this white distilled liquor is far more intriguing than that. Resurrected from recipes of old, ‘breadwine’ has not been subjected to the double, triple and even quadruple distilled practices that strip away all character and imagination. Instead, the wheat, rye and caraway base are formally invited to coexist and contribute to a pronounced and distinctive flavor profile that lingers on the palate. Delicately soft and powerfully reminiscent of rye bread, Rodionov & Sons Polugar No. 3 is delightful to sip, enjoy and dream of bygone eras. Inspired by recipes handcrafted for Russian nobility, a few glasses will have you saying, ‘Vashe zrodovye!’ And what father doesn’t deserve an experience like that?