VIVA checks out Father’s Day gifts
| 15th June 2021
Who’s the Daddy? VIVA checks out Father’s Day gifts: With Father’s Day around the corner (June 20), here’s the VIVA guide to perfect pressies for the man you look up to.
Whether it’s your Dad, Grandpop, or just a source of inspiration you want to celebrate as your main male mentor, check out these bad boys to say thank you for all the years of love and support.
First thing that comes to mind is booze. What better way to say cheers to guyspiration than getting them a bottle of their favourite tipple?
If you’ve left it a little last minute, then don’t worry, we’ve got your back as many of these gifts can be delivered straight to their door.
Whisk(e)y a go go
Whisky or whiskey depending on your tastes is the go-to Father’s Day gift and we’ve rounded up some of the smoothest bottles your Pa will love.
For whisky loving Da’s we loved the award-winning Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky, launched in 2017 and the first whisky ever distilled in the Cotswolds. The distillery uses 100% locally grown, floor-malted barley and matures the whisky in first-fill ex-Bourbon barrels and reconditioned red wine casks. Rich and fruity, Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky is sippable with notes of honey, Seville orange marmalade and dark red fruits.
Available in a beautiful gift box, it is the perfect gift for a whisky lover and is versatile. Delicious neat, mixed with ginger ale for a longer serve or as an excellent base for cocktail creation. You could spoil your Dad to the Cotswolds Boulevardier cocktail a rich and warming variation on the Negroni. A delicious marriage of honeyed malt, rich aromatics and bittersweet marmalade.
It sells for £39 (700 ml. ABV 46%) and is available from cotswoldsdistillery.com, as well as selected Sainsbury’s and other stores.
Or treat him to the newly launched Gladstone Axe Whisky – a new modern classic whisky. The Gladstone Axe American Oak and The Black Axe make the perfect luxury gift for the whisky novice or aficionado. The Gladstone Axe Whisky is made from 100% malted barley and aged in oak barrels in Scotland.
These two easy drinking whiskies are for today’s new whisky enthusiast which can be drunk neat, on the rocks or mixed with a splash of soda or ginger ale and served with a slice of orange. They retail at £32 for a 70cl bottle. ABV: 41% and are available on Amazon if you’re in a rush The Gladstone Axe American Oak | The Gladstone Axe The Black Axe
A little more expensive is the The Perspective Series 21-Year-Old, a rich and complex blend of whiskies. Fresh, vibrant fruit is undercut by delicate oak and spice, gracefully interwoven with vanilla and honey, while a lingering finish caps the experience. Its beautiful label features an arresting photograph of the rugged Sandwood Bay coastline.
Selling at £89, the 21-Year-Old represents the chance to gift a genuinely collectable whisky that’s beautiful inside and out, at an affordable price point and is available at amazon.co.uk
Go Irish with the light golden colour of Writers Tears Copper Pot Irish Whiskey points to a light-bodied, easy-drinking and sweet Irish whiskey.
Its flagship blend of single pot still and single malt whiskeys has been created with a deft touch to showcase beautiful honey and raisin notes and makes a wonderful gift for both keen amateurs and experts in the world of Irish whiskey. Writers Tears Copper Pot Irish Whiskey is available at masterofmalt.com
If gin’s his thing
Not every Pop is a whisky fan do why not spoil him with the fabulous Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin described as ‘The whole of India in one bottle’.
Triple-distilled in traditional copper pot stills and handcrafted in the foothills of the Himalayas at one of India’s oldest distilleries, Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin encapsulates the rich heritage of the Indian City of Jaisalmer, with a recipe that combines the ancient knowledge of herbs and spices, vibrant juniper berries and hand-picked botanicals from all four corners of India. It’s £34.95 for a 70cl bottle. ABV: 43% available from amazon.co.uk, thewhiskyexchange.com and masterofmalt.com
For Dad’s with bottle
And we’ve also picked out some less obvious tipples that Dadio will enjoy.
We loved the idea of The Storywood Tequila Speyside 14 Añejo Tequila and can’t wait to try it. It’s an unusual twist to the traditional whisky gift, where 100% agave liquid has been expertly aged in single malt whisky casks from Speyside to create the world’s first sipping tequilas.
The whisky-like characteristics drawn from the wood mean that Storywood Tequilas can be enjoyed neat or on the rocks. It costs £47.45 for 700ml. ABV: 40%, and is available from storywoodtequila.com as well as other stockists.
The Stambecco Amaro is a delicious Italian Amaro distilled in a bespoke copper pot still and infused with luxury Marasca cherries, bitter citrus peel, local Italian mountain herbs and botanicals. Stambecco takes its name from the Italian word for the Ibex or long-horned mountain goat which roams the Alps near the distillery.
It’s the perfect gift for adventurous dads wanting to try something new this year. Stambecco is best enjoyed on the rocks, as an ice cold shot or in a Stamberoni, a twist on a negroni. Again, it’s available on amazon and retails at £25 for 70cl. ABV 35%.
If your Dad can be a little rum (see what we did there), then we’d recommend checking out Cut Spiced Rum, a premium Caribbean Rum infused with real spices including, Aniseed, nutmeg, ginger, pepper, cinnamon, coriander seed, lemon and vanilla.
It’s the perfect partner to BBQ foods and delicious when used as a cooking ingredient and it’s a bargain at £23.50 (ABV: 37.5%) from cutrum.com and other stockists.
Footie mad Dad?
If it’s an experience you want to enjoy with your Dad, Hotel Football, the upscale football-themed hotel situated outside Old Trafford a Father’s Day package featuring a Q&A with Wes Brown, the former English professional footballer who made his name at Manchester United.
The package, costing £240 per couple and £360.00 per family (2 adults & 2 Children), includes a Q&A with Wes Brown in Heaven from 3:00pm, a screening of the Portugal v Germany in the Stadium Suite after the Q&A, a 2 Course Dinner in Cafe Football with screening of Spain v Poland game, and Afternoon Tea (on either Saturday or Sunday) and overnight accommodation at Hotel Football. Visit reservations@hotelfootball.com for more info.
A little help from Selfridges
If you don’t have a clue but want to spoil the Dad in your life, then Selfridges’ thoughtfully curated edit of gifts and experiences may be the perfect answer.
Whether they’re sharply dressed, enjoy cooking up a storm or have an eye for interiors, Selfridges has the perfect gift to say thank you. For the dads who are hard to buy for, or perhaps first-time dads in need of some R&R, customers can treat them to an extraordinary experience via Selfridges new Experience Concierge, available in London and coming to Manchester and Birmingham soon
We loved the look of the Heating & Plumbing London Check waterproof new wool picnic blanket (Selfridges.com) for £155 and the stunning DEVIALET Phantom II 98 dB Iconic speaker Selfridges.com, £1,290.
But there are gifts starting from just over £50 and we got very excited by the sexy OONI Portable oven Selfridges.com that’s £89 Exclusive to Selfridges.
It’s the thought that counts
If you’re broke, you can still let your Dad know you care. A simple card, an IOU or an offer to cook/clean/be their slave for a day, will all touch their hearts.
And for those who’s Dads have passed, we hope you can remember the day with some happy memories and send you a VIVA hug.