Fathers’ Day 2020 Gift Guide: Luxurious Finds for the Modern Gentleman

Father’s Day is this Sunday, June 21, and if your busy schedule has left you struggling at this late date to come up with a gift idea for your dad, granddad, brother or son, WatchTime is here to assist. Obviously, we feel that our extensive watch coverage on this website, our print magazine, and our social media offers more than enough info and insight for anyone looking to pull the trigger on a timepiece purchase. But what if you’re looking for something a little different, or something to supplement that timepiece gift? Here we offer a variety of choices from some of our favorite luxury purveyors, in a variety of categories.

International Spirits: Ardbeg Wee Beastie ($46.99, www.ardbeg.com) is the latest smoky spirit to emerge from the peat bogs of Islay, matured five years in ex-bourbon and sherry casks and bristling with intense, salt-tinged flavors and aromas of pepper, chocolate, pine resin and hints of vanilla and eucalyptus. • A Scotch whisky on the other end of the age spectrum, BenRiach 21 Year Old ($174.99, www.benriachdistillery.com) is the product of more than two decades of aging in four types of casks: Bourbon, Virgin Oak, Pedro Ximenez Sherry and Red Wine. This Speyside malt, blended by Master Blender Rachel Barrie, is a superbly balanced and multifaceted whisky with dried fruit, vanilla, and caramel flavor notes. • From Mexico’s Jalisco region comes Cutwater Reposado Tequila ($40, www.reservebar.com), harvested from 100% blue agave that is then baked in traditional brick ovens, open fermented and double distilled, then aged in whiskey barrels to achieve its smooth, oak-accented flavor and long, caressing finish.

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Cigars: Cohiba Royale ($23.99-$28.99/cigar, www.cohiba.com) debuts as the fullest-bodied Cohiba to date, and the first to be handcrafted in Honduras. Its multi-nation blend includes tobacco from fertile, micro-climate soils in Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic, wrapped in a lustrous sun-grown leaf from Nicaragua’s Jalapa Valley, which together impart a bold favor profile of cedar, leather, black pepper, and spice. • Porsche Design offers luxurious accessories to prepare these super-premium smokes for maximum enjoyment: the P’3621 Cigar Cutter ($115, www.porsche-design.com), with its radial-operated double blade made of Japanese steel, and the P’3647 Lighter ($165, www.porsche-design.com), with milled horizontal grooved texture for an ideal grip and a flat, adjustable gas flame for a perfect light every time.

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Summer Style: Golf courses are reopening for the summer and Johnston & Murphy has a variety of golf shirts and shoes for Dad to don on the links. The venerable fashion house’s wrinkle-resistant, colorful XC4 Golf Polos ($69.50, www.johnstonmurphy.com) are made of breathable, moisture-wicking fabric that provides 50 UPF sun protection. The newly released XC4-H1-Luxe Hybrid footwear ($179, www.johnstonmurphy.com) is ideal for transitioning directly from the office to the golf course, made of lightweight waterproof leather and boasting memory foam cushioning, turf-hugging rubber soles, and J&M’s “Smart Degree” cooling technology. • Tane is a Mexico City-based silversmith and jeweler whose designs for men and ladies reflect its home country’s pre-Hispanic culture. Tane’s Sugar Skull Cuff Links ($209, www.atelierallday.com) are inspired by calaveras, the skull-shaped confections traditionally made for Day of the Dead celebrations; they’re handmade of .925 sterling silver and allow you to literally wear your love of ancient Mexican culture on your sleeve. Finally, the right scent is always the finishing touch for the well-groomed gentleman, and Monsieur Dada ($2.75 per 1.75 fl. oz, www.krigler.com) by European parfumerie Krigler is one that stands out from the fragrant pack. Like the anarchic modern art movement from which it takes its name, the new eau de parfum is a blend of “unexpected notes” that aren’t commonly mixed together — among them cedar wood, black pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, and patchouli, with an overtone of zesty orange — resulting in a “rebellious” and very masculine aroma.

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American Spirits: Rabbit Hole Dareringer Straight Bourbon Whiskey ($79.99, www.rabbitholedistillery.com) takes its name from the wife and “brand muse” of founder Kaveh Zamanian, and is the only expression of the Louisville-based craft distillery finished in Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks after four years of aging in new charred American Oak. The sublime result is a distinctively elegant flavor array with caramel, black cherry, almonds and raisins culminating in a long, spice-tinted finish. • Vermont’s “farm-to-bottle” WhistlePig distillery has produced the first-ever crowd-sourced whiskey, achieved in a “together, while apart” blending experiment in which enthusiasts and spirits professionals alike contributed submissions from home during the recent coronavirus lockdowns. Whistlepig Homestock Whiskey ($72.99, www.flaviar.com or www.caskers.com) blends rye, wheat and barley for a richly layered taste experience that leaves notes of toffee, orange zest, pipe tobacco and honey on the palate.

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Travel: Zero Halliburton brought the world its first aluminum suitcase way back in 1938 and has reinvented its lineup of premium travel cases this year with new cutting-edge designs and tough, patent-pending structural technology. The Continental Carry-On in Camo ($525, www.zerohalliburton.com), from ZH’s Edge Lightweight Collection, is a 22-inch case, weighing less than 8 lbs, with a sophisticated interior packing structure inside a high-performance exterior. Design details include an ergonomic telescoping pull handle, advanced wheels created to seamlessly glide 360 degrees, concave edging for maximum impact absorption, and a magnetized leather ID badge. • Montblanc adds to its impressive portfolio of pens and timepieces with its new MB01 Smart Travel Over-Ear Headphones ($595, www.montblanc.com), perfect for those long-haul flights that Dad will soon be taking again, equipped with noise-cancelling technology, ergonomically designed for optimum comfort, and functional across a wide range of Bluetooth-enabled devices, including iOs and Android. • Of course, one needs to also make sure one’s watch collection is staying wound while one is on a trip. Wolf watch winders, known for their fusion of leather, wood, glass, and steel, work on a 24-hour cycle, with six-hour periods of intermittent activity followed by “sleep” periods that allow the tension in the watches’ mainsprings to ease, avoiding over-winding. In all, an owner can choose 50 different cycles that combine various factors, including direction of rotation and number of turns per day, from 300 to 1,200. The drums that hold the watches are over 75 mm in diameter, to accommodate just about any watch size, with secure lock-in cuffs. All the parts, except for the Japanese Mabuchi motor, are assembled in-house by the British company. Prices range from $179 for a single-watch winder to $3,000 for an eight-watch winder (pictured; visit www.wolf1834.com.)

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