Choosing a Good Wine or Spirit for Fancy Dads

Fancy Dad's love a good drink, there's no doubt about it.  They're most happy when they're in their chosen place of comfort, be it study, sitting room or out on the deck, just relaxing, reading a book, maybe listening to some music and of course enjoying a fine wine or something smokey on the rocks.

Buying a drop for Dad is something of a tradition, but it can be difficult to choose what to get. You'll need to find out what he likes.

Single Malt Scotch

This one is easy because you cannot go wrong with a bottle of The Macallan, known as the "King of Whiskies". They come in many levels and the cheapest is still an exceptional quality 12-year old drink. You can easily spend more and get up amongst some of the greatest scotch ever made.

Blended Scotch

This one is also relatively simple, because you can go with a few popular brands that you'll see on shelves everywhere but they'll still make Dad smile when he sees it in his gift box. These can get pricey, a bottle of Johnny Walker's Blue Label or Chivas Regal Royal Salute will set you back about $170, but if you still need to go blended, a cheaper option would be the 18-year-old Chivas Regal Gold Signiature for around $75.

Irish Whiskey

There's a good chance Dad has never tried these beauties, and that's great for brownie points! Redbreast Irish Whiskey is described as the purest form of the art of distillery. It's a great buy for around $100.  This 12-year-old whiskey will surprise Dad and you can tell him all about the history of Irish distilling and how they've rediscovered the art recently with this brand leading the charge.

Bourbon

Here you basically want to go one further than the normal Jim Beam or Jack Daniels. Go for a nice bottle of Makers Mark 46 to offer Dad a much smoother bourbon experience that's artfully bottled to help you in your gift giving adventure.

Rum

This one has a clear winner, do your best to source a bottle of Ron Abuelo. The expensive version named Ron Abuelo Centurion is described as one of the best rums ever produced, and it's cheaper cousins are an absolute steal if somewhat hard to buy from the shelf. You may need to look online for this one but it will blow Dad's classic Bundy right out of the water.

Red Wine

Possibly the hardest category. Ask Dad what his favourite blend is to give you some indication, then be guided by price. You can trust that the more expensive the bottle is, the better quality it will be, and with a little research after buying, you can present it to Dad with a bunch of facts to impress his socks off. A red wine for around the $60-80 will be of exceptional quality, enough to put a smile on even the most wine savvy Dad's face.