Lifestyle: A Toast to Father's Day

Here at ASW we periodically take a break from clothing, usually to sneak a cigar and a tipple or two. That side interest led me to visit the Aberfeldy (Scotland) distillery of John Dewar & Sons last year, a place to sample that company's Aberfeldy single malts and its blended whiskies based on the Aberfeldy.

Now the name Dewar's is usually associated with its White Label blend, the principal component of nameless scotch and sodas in American bars through the decades. So I was mildly surprised when I learned that the company's better stuff, Dewar’s 12, the newly released Dewar’s 18 that was Whisky Magazine's Best Blended Scotch Whisky last year and the limited production Dewar’s Signature, compete on equal terms with Johnnie Walker. The Signature, which usually retails for about $200 though it can be found as low as $150 a bottle, is special, with a great nose that is the product of a blend of 27 year old Aberfeldy single malt and other whiskies from all over Scotland.

All that as as backgound, it was called to my attention that Costco stores and other retailers across North America are offering a Gift Pack containing 200 ml bottles of those three better blends in a package that officially retails for $100.

And that might be a reasonable way to toast Father's Day, and each day following till the bottles run dry.