Drink of the Week: A Trio of Whiskeys for Dad

June 14, 2013

Does your dad dig whiskey? With Father’s Day on Sunday, we’re offering up not one, not two, but three Drinks of the Week. Whether he’s a bourbon enthusiast, a Scotch drinker or a rye guy, these three gift-worthy, easy-to-find bottles are whiskeys any father will love.

Blanton’s Bourbon

This Kentucky-born whiskey takes the unique approach of bottling each barrel individually (instead of the more common approach of marrying barrels together before bottling), resulting in a unique representation of its individual distillation batch, barrel and where it was stored in the rickhouse.

$49, astorwines.com

BenRiach 12-Year Scotch

Scotch, Scotch, Scotch—does dad love Scotch? This Father’s Day upgrade his standard pour with this lightly peated Speyside single malt. It’s rich and full-bodied with evolving flavors that shift from sweet vanilla and honey to subtle smoke and barrel spice, and drinks great whether dad takes it neat, poured over a few rocks or topped with a few drops of water.

$48, drinkupny.com

Templeton Rye

This Iowa-born rye whiskey predates Prohibition and was said to be a favorite of Al Capone. With rye grains making up more than 90 percent of its mash (to be classified as a rye a whiskey need only be made with 51 percent rye), expect loads of spice smoothed over by rich vanilla and toast on the finish.

$40, drinkupny.com