We love finding Father’s Day gifts that go beyond the predictable socks, tools and T-shirts. This year we’ve got some awesome Father’s Day gifts that are not only manly, but also fun, challenging and stylish.
In Australia and New Zealand, Father’s Day falls on the first Sunday of September. But across the world, dads are revered on all different dates throughout the year, from March 14 in Iran to 5th December in Thailand.
It’s a time when we get to give a nod of recognition to the Old Man and tell him that we appreciate what he’s done for us.
And if you want to give more than just a nod, but think he deserves a bit more than and dodgy card and a six pack of average beer, here are our top 7 Father’s Day gifts that Dad will love – the hard thing will be choosing which to give him!
7 Father’s Day gifts that will make his day
Something whisky
For the dad who loves whisky, there’s never been a better time. Check out my favourite Father’s Day gifts in the whisky department.
Timboon Railway Shed Distillery, VIC – single malt Aussie whisky
Australian whisky has never been better than it is now and the single malt coming from Timboon Railway Shed Distillery is confirmation of that. Not only is this whisky the perfect expression of Scotch-style Aussie whisky, the distillery’s historic heritage is couched in bootlegging, covert police operations, gunfights and disguises.
As for the whisky, it’s a superb example of Aussie single malt. A fresh, appley nose with smooth, almost creamy front notes and bold, chocolatey, woody flavours come through. The ex-port barrels the distillery have used to age this whisky have really done the job and the generous 41%ABV leaves a wonderful tingle on the lips. This is a beauty of a drop.
Shop it: Timboon Port Expression single Malt Australian Whisky $155
Woodford Reserve engraved bottle
The great old whiskey house Woodford Reserve lives in the heart of Kentucky’s Bourbon region. It’s a no-brainer for Dad’s national day, but Woodford Reserve is also offering an extra service where you can add a personal message on the bottle.
For $10 you can personalise the bottle with an engraving (66 characters max.) and make it something that Dad will keep for longer than he normally would a bottle of whiskey!
Shop it: Woodford Reserve Bourbon engraved bottle $75
Glenfiddich IPA Experiment
On the other hand, if your dad prefers beer or he can’t make up his mind between beer or whisky, how about a compromise? You might remember a couple of months ago, Mrs Romance and I filmed this Facebook Live video tasting Glenfiddich’s new whisky the IPA Experiment.
This very cool drop sees the classic Glenfiddich single malt matured in IPA casks, leaving beautiful hoppy notes in the whisky. Clever, delicious and quite different – I don’t know a whisky-loving dad who could pass this up!
Shop it: Glenfiddich IPA Experiment $130
Something to pour into
From a whisky lover’s point of view, I know there’s something about having your own special glass to sip a tipple from. Here’s a glass in a class of its own.
Map-engraved whisky tumblers
For the dad who loves his whisky almost as much as his travelling, this whisky glass with a choice of different city maps etched into it covers everything.
I’ve got a couple of favourite glasses at home, but a scotch glass with a London map on it would be awesome… Mrs Romance, I hope you’re listening!
Shop it: city map etched whisky glass £14.99 (approx. $25)
Something spicy
If Dad enjoys the tongue-tingling triumph of eating something spicy, this brand is head, shoulders and a dash for a glass of milk above every other I’ve tried.
Blair’s Death Rain chips and sauce
There’s a bit of a story behind this particular brand of chilli products – but the short of it is I fell in love with the Blair’s Death Rain Habanero Pepper chips because they gave me chilli hiccups! Most chips that say they’re hot are all talk and no trousers, but these really wear the pants here. Hotpants if you will!
The sauce is also serious stuff – you only need a drop or two to turn anything from a vat of soup to a pot of curry into something even Homer would quail at. Somehow there’s still plenty of flavour behind the extreme heat though.
So if Dad likes it hot, you can’t go wrong with this brand. They’re based in the States, but there are domestic merchants in most countries. Australia’s is called Blonde Chilli and they’re great!
Shop it: Blair’s Death Rain products
Something stylish
Mrs Romance and I once overheard a conversation between two women talking about wallets. One of them told the other you never buy yourself a wallet; it’s something people give you. That’s stuck with us, so here are a couple of beautiful options for Dad to keep his cash in.
Paul Smith @ East Dane
Mrs Romance recently bought this wallet for me and I love it. The leather’s beautiful and the classic Paul Smith colours add a bit of fun to the sleek style.
Paul Smith is one of my favourite brands, but sometimes they are the wrong size for Aussie money. This one fits all Australian dollar denominations.
Shop it: Paul Smith wallet at East Dane $286
Mon Purse – men’s leather wallets
Mon Purse has a beautiful range of men’s wallets. I like to keep mine as simple as possible – no coin section and no middle flap thing either. They also make beautiful luggage tags your dad might like if he’s one that clocks up the air miles.
These guys are an Australian brand and use high-grade Italian leather. You can also add monograms or even emojis to the corner of the wallet or on the luggage tag, which is pretty cool.
Shop it: men’s leather wallets $99 – $149
Something to read
Every man worth his salt enjoys a good book, but finding Dad the one he wants is a minefield. Instead, get him a whole bookshop to choose from.
Kobo e-reader
When it comes to e-readers, there aren’t too many options out there. Amazon’s Kindle is one but if you want to read anything that’s not from the Amazon bookstore, you’ll find it tricky.
Kobo is much more flexible; you can even borrow ebooks from your local library via your Kobo, which is brilliant.
But the best thing about the latest Kobo is that it’s waterproof. I love the idea of taking it to the beach or sitting in the bath and not having to worry about sand or water getting into it. In fact you can leave the Kobo Aura H2O in a metre of water for up to 30 minutes… not sure why you’d do that, but you can!
Shop it: Kobo Aura H2O – $239.95
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. We hope this guide to Father’s Day gifts has brought you something you love.
What are your plans for Father’s Day? What do you think is the best gift for Dad on his national day – other than love and respect of course! Tell us in the comments.
