What to get the man who has everything? It's a cliched question, I know, but in all seriousness my dad does have everything. He's knee deep in books on 19th century ship building, his military patch collection takes up several shelves, and he always has his favorite scotch on hand. I asked him what he wanted and he actually said, "Oh! Dark socks!" without a bit of irony. What, no tie as well? So I did what any good daughter would do and got him what I thought he'd like rather than what he needed.
First to top the list is 6 bottles of The Bruery's Papier, half brandy and half bourbon aged. I tasted Papier straight from the barrel in my trip to the Bruery, and let my dad (who was filming) have a sip. He doesn't enjoy beer usually and actually balked when he tasted it. He turned to Patrick Rue, the owner of the Bruery, and said emphatically, "Now, this is REALLY good." We opened a bottle on Father's Day, and it truly is outstanding stuff. Very little carbonation but a deep, rich, almost burnt sugar flavor with hints of sweet tobacco and vanilla. Yum!
My second gift to him was obvious to me. My dad loves fish, and salmon is his favorite. When I heard about the historic Russ and Daughter's from New York, I knew I had to check out what they had to offer. Russ and Daughter's has been specializing in smoked and cured fish for around one hundred years, and also has the distinction of being the first company in the US to have the phrase "and daughters" rather than "and sons" added to its name. But really, the fish is what hooked me. The varieties of smoked and cured salmon sent me into a Pavlovian frenzy. Scottish smoked, kippered, cured gravlax, the exotic Balik (which was the salmon of the czars), basically guarantee a salmon for anyone. I went with the Pastrami Cured Salmon, because, what isn't to love about those two words strung together? And I must say that it is the best smoked salmon I've ever had. I seriously might be celebrating father's day every month just to try all of the varieties Russ and Daughter's offers. Smoky, subtly sweet, delicate, and herbaceous, I draped pieces into my mouth without nary a bagel or cream cheese around.
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