Father’s Day Gift Guide 2022: Drinks

Let’s start off with a pick that is simultaneously offensive in its reliance on stereotypes and unquestionable in its quality. A German stein will likely outlive the heat death of the universe, with the added benefit of making your pilsner-based bonding sessions feel like extended tavern sittings.

So many of our flasks are these decorative or sentimental gifts that we feel bad actually using. If we take them off the shelf or out of the cabinet, the probability that we’ll smash them goes up exponentially. But if we get or give a flask that’s designed to get the piss kicked out of it, it actually becomes more sentimental as it’s beaten up. We’re using reverse psychology on the flask, see.

[Partner]  Celebrate Father’s Day the best way we know how: by raising a glass. In this case, Whiskey Peaks, a handsome lineup of hand-blown whiskey glasses, decanters, and beer steins made of lightweight yet durable lead-free glass. Featuring raised topographic impressions of the world’s greatest mountains.

[Partner]  Give Dad a taste of the Dominican with a Sampler Pack from La Aurora Cigars this Father’s Day. With a wide selection of cigar collections, a sampler pack allows you to gift a variety of the smokes and flavors La Aurora has to offer. Even better, for a limited time, enjoy free shipping on all orders.

We’ll admit we just featured this in a very recent cocktail recipe book round-up, but we’re reusing it with good reason. It seems that dads in particular are interested in cocktail history. Or at least ours listen politely as we ramble on about all the things people forgot they could do with a few shots of gin and a couple fruit syrups.

Not every father is a mixologist, but those that are seem to take it very seriously. Maybe that’s just a paternal trait. Whatever the cause, our experience has shown us that it’s important to encourage our fathers as much as we can, which means making sure he’s equipped with the right tools for the job. Especially if that job is getting us trashed on true whiskey sours and Manhattans in places that aren’t our houses.

It’s a gorgeous set of glasses and ice ball molds that are perfect for tasting new bottles, revisiting old favorites, and sharing refined cocktails. Now all you have to do is convince dad to put some of that retirement fund to packing his study (your old bedroom) with wainscoting, maroon and leather upholstery, and dusty leatherback tomes.

This should be treated as a starter kit. It gives you two infusion kits and the jar and pouring tops for distribution. The first isn’t reusable, but the second is, so you or Dad can use the kits to get ideas rolling, then use the jars to execute.

We got one of these not too long ago and we have to say it’s among the best growlers we’ve ever owned. It’s attractive, durable, and beer stays cold in it forever. The pouring handle is also much more convenient than we originally expected. Give one to Dad so your next trip to a craft brewery turns into a take-home session instead of a flight and a pint.

For us, having different beer glasses is just a way of making our pints more fun. Different beers look good in different glasses. It’s an opinion that developed over our father-son happy hours. Let the elitist cicerones debate the form and function of glassware. We just want to look at pretty beer.

A little while ago, when we told you to stop buying syrups, we forgot to add the caveat that some people are making syrups that would be exceedingly hard to make at home and that it’s okay to buy those. This barrel-aged syrup would be one such example. The releases are all slightly different, thanks to the variation in their production processes and they do a lot to enhance straight whiskey. You don’t have to worry about being gouged on this one.

People that don’t use coasters confuse and scare us. It feels like some kind of furniture abuse to drop dewy glass right on the bare wood, regardless of how the wood’s protected. Which is a little hypocritical of us to say, because these coasters are made of wood. But they’re the wood you’re supposed to put a dewy glass on. It’s just different and they’re cool looking.

If your dad’s the type of guy to build a home bar, we bet he’s the kind to have a handful of favorite whiskeys on rotation. This liquor dispenser gives him the opportunity to make that literal. It has a measure built-in, but also allows for continuous pouring if the two of you are mixing cocktails or simply in the mood for doubles. There’s a six-bottle version too, in case you’re connoisseurs.

This isn’t to denigrate drinking beer straight from the can, but we’ve found there’s a significant psychological switch that happens when you actually take the time to pour your can into a cup. We don’t know exactly what that switch is. It feels like something close to professionalism. Maybe that’s just us, we don’t know. Whatever it is, get your dad an alternative for tailgating.