Cocktails to Get Dad into the Spirit of Father’s Day

Giving Dad a bottle for Father’s Day is usually a fine idea, but let’s face it…dropping off a card and a bottle of liquor without any recipes is like giving him a hammer without any nails. It’s great and all, (and you can still get hammered with it…) but you can’t really build anything with it unless you know how to use it.

Instead, pick up a special spirit for Pops and arm him with a recipe for a cocktail that will remind him of you and this Father’s Day every time he stirs or shakes one up. And if your dad is a fan of country music, you can pick from this list of celebrity-owned liquors and top off your gift with a CD of music from the artist. (We know you probably don’t buy CDs anymore, but your old man remembers them. He probably still has a cassette tape deck in his Buick…)

Country music hitmakers Midland have partnered up with a pair of Mexican tequila masters, brothers Octavio and Alberto Herrera, to create an ultra-premium small batch new product called INSÓLITO. The name comes from the Spanish word for “extraordinary,” and it befits this particular tequila which is manufactured at the distillery at the highest elevation in Mexico, 7200 feet up in the mountains of Jalisco in a town called Mazamitla.

While the aged resposado and añejo versions of INSÓLITO are certainly appropriate for sipping neat or on the rocks because they have matured (just like Dad!), the younger blanco expression is ideal as the base ingredient of a classic margarita. We’re not talking about one of those neon green frozen concoctions, either. Just a simple combination of well-made tequila combined with freshly squeezed lime juice, a simple syrup made by combining one part water with one part sugar and a floater of orange liqueur to add some citrus zing. Coinreau or Triple Sec are the choices for this, but splurge and make one with Mandarine Napoléon for a high class and exotic splurge. Don’t spoil the party by using some sugary mix from a plastic bottle! Try this instead.

Classic Margarita

2 ounces INSÓLITO Blanco Tequila
1 ounce fresh lime juice
½ ounce simple syrup
½ ounce Mandarine Napoléon

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake until your hand gets cold. (At least as long as you would wash your hands while singing “Happy Birthday” to yourself. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice and skip the salted rim. That’s for cruise ship tourists.

Kenny Chesney has been the soundtrack of many a good time through the years, so his Blue Chair Bay Rum is an excellent choice to celebrate Dad’s Day. Available in multiple incarnations ranging from crisp and clean white rum to a decadent banana rum cream, Blue Chair Bay runs the gamut of flavors, which makes it a fine base for a wide spectrum of cocktails. We think your father will like the Sidewinder because it balances the subtle tropical flavors of Blue Chair Bay Banana Rum with the pleasant bitterness of Aperol, the ubiquitous Italian amaro that is the main ingredient in that great summer spritz. Maybe Dad will let you take that bottle home with you for your porch-pounding pleasure after Father’s Day brunch is over.

Sidewinder

1 1/2 ounces Blue Chair Bay Banana Rum
1 ounce Aperol
½ ounce simple syrup
½ ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce pineapple juice
1 ounce club soda 

Shake all ingredients except club soda together in a mixing tin filled with ice. Strain into a double rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with a lime wheel.

If your dad liked the sidewinder, he’s probably got a bit of a sweet tooth, so we have another good choice for him. Florida Georgia Line’s Old Camp Peach Pecan Whiskey just begs to be consumed around a campfire, at the beach (discreetly) or at a fun tailgate party. This easy-drinking flavored whiskey also contributes nice sweet and nutty notes to one of the FGL boys favorite easy cocktails, the Old Camp Ice Tea. Feel free to multiply this recipe by eight to make a whole pitcherful.

Old Camp Iced Tea

2 ounces Old Camp Peach Pecan Whiskey
4 ounces black or sweet tea
1 tablespoon simple syrup
Lemon wedge

Add all ingredients over crushed ice in a mason jar, stir until cold and garnish with a lemon wedge.

If your dad is more of a straight whiskey drinker, he’ll probably appreciate a bottle of John Rich’s Redneck Riviera Whiskey. OK, it’s actually a blended whiskey instead of technically “straight,” but it is made from a combination of 100% American whiskey as opposed to the more traditional Canadian version. Your dad would appreciate knowing that. The classic blended whiskey cocktail is the “Seven and Seven” that probably got your dad through many a football tailgater back in his college days, but we think he’s ready to spice it up with a new version that uses a more complex mixer of ginger beer to move it into the family of drinks known as “Bucks.”

Fox Meets a Buck

2 ounces Redneck Riviera
American Blended Whiskey
½ ounce fresh lime juice
½ ounce simple syrup
6 ounces Barritt’s Ginger Beer

Fill a tall collins glass with ice. Pour all the ingredients except the ginger beer into the glass and stir until chilled. Top with ginger beer and garnish with a lime wedge.

Now we’ve never gone day drinking personally with Blake Shelton, but something tells us he’d be pretty good at it. So we trust him when he says that a Bloody Mary made with his Smithworks Vodka is something special. His particular favorite benefits from an extra tangy bite of pickle brine from the bottom of the jar, and he promises it’s even better if you garnish it with a beef stick. We think Dad would approve.

Smithworks Bloody Mary

2 ounces Smithworks Vodka
4 ounces Bloody Mary Mix (Dad’s choice)
½ ounce pickle brine
4 shakes hot sauce (Again, Dad’s choice, it’s his day so he gets to pick!)

Combine Smithworks Vodka with bloody mary mix in a highball glass filled with ice. Add a splash of pickle brine and hot sauce. Stir and garnish with a lemon wedge and a dill pickle spear.