Whisky Advocate: 12 Bottles Dad Actually Wants This Father's Day

From rare single malts to affordable and accessible American whiskeys—and three non-whiskies—these Father’s Day picks are guaranteed crowd-pleasers

Your dad has enough ties, novelty T-shirts, coffee mugs, and socks. Upgrade your gifting game and get him something that will replace a forced smile with a wide grin: a wonderful bottle. Whether he’s a seasoned sipper or a whisky neophyte, we’ve selected 12 standout spirits ranging from special scotch single malts to cult-favorite bourbons to accessible, underrated ryes—and a few exceptional whisky-adjacent options—all guaranteed to earn you favorite-child status. Here’s hoping whatever you buy him, Dad will crack the bottle and pour a glass for you, too.

L'Encantada Tattoo Series Grape Brandy Finished in Ex Bourbon Casks

L'Encantada L'Esprit Armagnac, ABVs And SRPs Vary

If dad likes armagnac, a bottle of L’Encantada will make his year. Prices and proofs vary by vintages, though there’s something available at most price points.

L'encantada XO - Cigar Reserve

The widely available XO Cigar Blend ($123) has a super nice body and texture and pairs well with cigars, while the Tattoo Series 3 ($169) boasts a beautiful label and liquid—the brandy's been finished in Weller barrels.

Clear as a Bell

These elegant (but electric) digestifs are the perfect pick-me-up, nightcap, and grand finale—all in one glass

BY AMIEL STANEK PHOTOGRAPH BY ISA ZAPATA

Once the dessert forks have been surrendered and everyone swears they couldn’t possibly take even one more bite, a final pour of something special on Thanksgiving just feels right. While I can see the merits of trotting out a bottle of bark-bitter amaro or a mellow bourbon that’s seen a few years in oak, these days I take a different tack. When I want to round out a big meal in style, the choice is clear—a clear spirit, that is. I’m talking about things like eau-de-vie, grappa, mezcal, and clairin. Though these liquors are unique in terms of their geographic origin, composition, and production, they share a brazen character, making them ideal meal-enders. Instead of relying on extensive aging in wood to lend complexity, each spirit tastes unabashedly of the raw materials from which they were distilled and the places where they were made. Heirloom apples. Hand-harvested grapes. Pit-roasted agave. Wild-fermented sugarcane. These idiosyncratic products are as lively and expressive as the day they trickled out of the still; with no time spent in barrels to discipline their rougher edges, flavor has nowhere to hide. And at the end of a rich meal, one sharp sip immediately snaps you back to consciousness, like a cold plunge after a sweaty sauna session.

As is the case with all booze, spirits made with care by small, independent producers are going to be more compelling and often boast a price tag to match. But this is the most special of occasions, after all—when else are you going to break out the good stuff?

CYRIL ZANGS – DOUBLE ZÉRO EAU-DE-VIE DE CIDRE

This bright 100-proof apple brandy is a collaboration between culty Normandy cider maker Cyril Zangs and renowned distillery Calvados Roger Groult. It smells and tastes like a brisk fall stroll through an orchard: ripe fruit, a crisp breeze,

LAURENT CAZOTTES – GOUTTE DE REINE CLAUDE DORÉE

Laurent Cazottes’s eaux-de-vie are the stuff of legend, crafted from small parcels of his own lovingly tended trees and vines. To make this style, Cazottes painstakingly dries and hand-pits greengage plums before fermentation, which yields an extraordinarily concentrated elixir.

CLAIRIN VAVAL RUM

Traditional clairin, perhaps Haiti’s most revered spirit, is rum for mezcal nerds. Made from freshly pressed heritage sugarcane varietals and fermented with no added yeasts, each distillation is a unique expression of terroir. This one, from second-generation producer Fritz Vaval, is sunny and herbaceous, each sip gracefully ping-ponging between delicate flowers and salty funk.