As holidays go, Father’s Day is a fairly new one. It’s only really been observed since 1966, when President Lyndon Baines Johnson designated the third Sunday in June to be a day for honoring dads.
As a result, there are just a few traditions associated with it—the main ones being, of course, the giving of Father’s Day cards and gifts.
But the rest of the day you’re pretty much on your own and, besides perhaps Scotch, there are certainly no traditional foods or beverages associated with the holiday.
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I think as a country we can certainly do better than that—we’re celebrating your dad after all. So to properly honor the man you need to fix him a delicious cocktail and give him a heartfelt toast.
To help you out we picked four drinks any father is sure to enjoy and that you’ll be able to pull off no matter your bartending skills.
If you’re having brunch with your pops, try fixing him the manly Blood and Sand. The cocktail, to be clear, does not contain blood or sand but is instead named for a Rudolph Valentino bullfighting movie that came out in 1922.
This cocktail busts the myth that Scotch can’t be used in mixed drinks. The whisky works beautifully with orange juice, sweet vermouth and the Danish Cherry Heering liqueur.
The earliest recipe that anybody has been able to find is in Harry Craddock’s 1930 art-deco Savoy Cocktail Book, but other than that we don’t know much about who created the drink.
Blood and Sand
Ingredients:
1 oz Glenmorangie The Original Scotch1 oz Orange juice.75 oz Carpano Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth.75 oz Cherry Heering
Glass: Cocktail
Garnish: Brandied cherry
Directions:
Add all the ingredients to a shaker and fill with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass.
For afternoon soirees try making your dad a delicious Julep. But instead of using bourbon, which is now standard, try it with Cognac. In the 1800s, the French spirit was often used in cocktails and it’s great in a Julep with tons of baking spice notes.
Cognac Julep
Ingredients:
.5 oz Simple syrup (one part sugar, one part water)Mint leaves2 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 Original Formula Cognac
Glass: Julep
Garnish: Mint sprig
Directions:
Muddle a few mint leaves and the simple syrup in a julep cup. Add the Cognac and fill with crushed ice. Stir, until the julep cup develops a frosty exterior. Add more crushed ice and garnish with a mint sprig.
Another great afternoon sipper is the Old Fashioned. The drink, which calls for sugar, water, spirit, bitters and alcohol, is essentially the original definition of a cocktail. (In the late 1800s as bartenders began to use other ingredients, drinkers who wanted that basic concoction would order a so-called Old Fashioned.)
From brandy and bourbon to gin the Old Fashioned can be made with arrange of spirits but on Father’s Day I like to feature Scotch.
While it might sound heretical to some malt drinkers, the cocktail is a delicious way to showcase the spirit on hotter days. (Monday is, after all, the first day of summer.)
Old Fashioned
Ingredients:
Scotch1 tsp Sugar1 dash Water2 dash Angostura Bitters
Glass: Old Fashioned
Garnish: Brandied cherry
Directions:
Add a teaspoon of sugar, the bitters and a dash of water to an Old Fashioned glass. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the whisky and a large ice cube. Stir again and then garnish with a brandied cherry.
For dinner celebrations, you could certainly serve classic Manhattans (American whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters), but on Sunday mix things up by fixing the related Rob Roy, which instead calls for Scotch.
The switch in whiskies gives the drink a subtle difference, which your dad will no doubt enjoy tasting.
Rob Roy
Ingredients:
2 oz Scotch whiskey1 oz Carpano Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Glass: Cocktail
Garnish: Brandied cherry
Directions:
Add all the ingredients to a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a brandied cherry.
