Although it was fi rst celebrated in 1908 – in Spokane, Washington – it took a long time for Father’s Day to be widely recognised: 58 years, to be precise, for it was only in 1966 that President Lyndon Johnson made it a public holiday.

In the early days, the idea met with scorn and derision, but the wily American shopkeepers soon saw its commercial possibilities. Led by the Associated Men’s Wear Retailers of New York, a National Father’s Day Committee was formed in the mid-1930s, with the goal of ‘legitimating the holiday in the mind of the people and managing the holiday as a commercial event in a more systematic way’.

Gradually, it became expected that families would give Dad presents on the third Sunday in June. Last year, America spent over $11 billion on such gifts. What kind of gifts? One ‘Guide to Father’s Day’ suggests simply ‘male-orientated gifts, such as electronics and tools’. ‘Electronics and tools’! I ask you! No. The perfect gift for Dad on Father’s Day is malt whisky: virile, companionable, convivial, pleasurable, rewarding – and a bottle lasts longer than a box of chocolates. And don’t let me hear ‘But my Dad doesn’t drink malt whisky’. There’s a malt out there that he will love, and in this article I will attempt to identify a few. Prices are indicative only; some of the suppliers listed at the end may have them on offer.

Join the club

The ultimate whisky gift is not just a bottle of malt, but four small bottles of very special single cask malt, plus a handbook, a notebook and a badge, all gorgeously packaged in a handsome box… I am talking about membership of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. This will cost you £100, but it provides your Dad with the chance to buy exclusive single cask malts, access to club premises in Edinburgh, Leith and London, a quarterly glossy magazine and the opportunity to develop his interest in malt whisky at tastings up and down the land. See www.smws.com

For the Dad who has everything (over £70)

Okay, they’re expensive, but old malts are hugely rewarding. I have just fi nished reading an excellent book by a Dutch professor of psychology, Dr Ap Dijksterhuis (‘Whisky by Numbers’, signed copies from a.dijksterhuis@psych.ru.nl) in which he conclusively proves that whisky gets better over time.

He does this by applying statistical analysis to the scores awarded by a number of leading experts to a wide range of single malts. Outstanding recent releases in this category are: Highland Park 1977 21 Years Old @40%Vol (£250). This is a re-bottling of the Bicentenary Vintage fi rst released in 1978 – made possible by the recent discovery of 694 unsold bottles in Japan. (see www.highlandpark. co.uk).

Laphroaig 25 Years Old @50.9% (£225). Rich and smouldering, with a big hit of coal smoke and lingering seaweed. Vintage Laphroaig! Glenfarclas 30YO @43%Vol (£108). Wonderfully rich and mellow, matured in ex-sherry casks – a superb example of a magnifi cent whisky. The Michael Jackson Special Blend @40% (£80). The leading whisky and beer writer, Michael Jackson, died from Parkinson’s Disease in 2007, leaving a huge collection of whisky bottles. These have now been blended and 1000 bottles are available, with profi ts going to the Parkinson’s Society. Black Bull 30 Years Old @50%Vol (£74).

A most unusual blend of 50/50 malt and grain whis- kies, mixed as new make spirit and matured for a minimum of 30 years in ex-sherry casks. See. www.singlemaltsdirect.com Connoisseur’s Drams (£30 - £65) If your Dad knows his malts he will be familiar with these names, but each of the expressions I have listed are, in my view, outstanding examples of their makes. The Glenlivet Archive 21 Years Old @43%Vol (£64).

Grand-daddy of them all, and a benchmark expression. Mortlach 1991 17 Years Old @57%Vol (£56). A single cask of a great whisky from the everreliable independent bottler, Adelphi. See www.adelphidistillery. com Tobermory 15 Years Old @46.3% (£54).

Deep, dark and complex; drawn from sherry butts, and infi nitely superior to the standard Tobermory. Edradour 1997 Sauternes Finish (50cl; £40). I am not usually a fan of ‘fi nished’ whiskies, but this is unbelievably voluptuous. The Sauternes was Chateau d’Yquem! Glenkinchie 12 Years Old

Bargains (Under £30)

Some may say that paying £30 for a bottle of Scotch is hardly a bargain, but if you refl ect on the care and craft and time it takes to make good malt whisky, not to mention the pleasure of savouring a noble dram, you have to agree that it’s worth it. And, anyway, dads deserve it! Here are some of my current favourites: Glenmorangie Original 12 Years Old @40% (£28). The new version of ‘Scotland’s Favourite Malt’ has more body and complexity than the old one.

Worth re-visiting. Glendronach Original 12 Years Old @40%Vol (£26). I was reminded just how good this Aberdeenshire malt is when I tasted it at the distillery recently: rich and fruity. Talisker 10YO @45.8% (£25). A perennial spicy/ smoky favourite, and the best malt to accompany oysters, smoked salmon, haggis, pies – and almost any other savoury dish. Smokehead @ 43%Vol (£23). An excellent young Islay providing a full-on blast of peat-smoke and carbolic – for trendy dads. Old Pulteney 12 Years Old @40%Vol (£22).

Hugely underestimated fragrant and elegant malt from Wick. Some of these whiskies will be available from good local suppliers like Oddbins; they are certainly available from the leading specialist retailers: The Whisky Exchange, London www. thewhiskyexchange.com, Loch Fyne Whiskies, Inveraray www.lfw.co.uk and Royal Mile Whiskies, Edinburgh www.royalmilewhiskies.com Have a happy Father’s Day!

FIELDFACTS

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