Anybody who’s ever watched Jim Gaffigan perform knows that he takes his job as a parent seriously. The comedian has five kids with his wife and frequent collaborator Jeannie, and their family hijinks are frequently mentioned in his stand-up act. From squeezing a family of seven into a two-bedroom Manhattan apartment to suffering through countless horrible kids’ movies, parenting is Gaffigan’s comedy gold mine and biggest source of pride.
Gaffigan’s commitment to his kids shines bright on stage, on TV, and now, in the distillery. Gaffigan recently launched Fathertime, a limited-edition Kentucky bourbon that puts family front and center.
Gaffigan stopped by the Delish Kitchen Studios ahead of Father's Day to share some cocktail wisdom and show us how to make a dad-approved version of an Old Fashioned (spoiler alert: it involves noise-cancelling headphones).
A self-proclaimed "low-energy guy," Gaffigan normally lives off of coffee and Red Bull. "Some people have to calm down before a show," he says. "I actually have to get my energy up because I'm barely alive."
But when it's finally time to kick back after work and keep up with his kids, the comedian likes to reach for some bourbon. "In a family, the mom is the hero. We know that," he says. "But there is something about a father that shows up and bites his tongue and gives away all his money that should get a drink."
His favorite way to enjoy bourbon? Ice cold on the rocks.
"I think every guy wants his whiskey neat. I imagine I'll get there, but baby needs it chilly," he says. "I remember going to England and them drinking warm beers. You want to like a warm beer, but I don't."
As for how Fathertime Bourbon came to be, the comedian had been approached by prospective business partners in the past to make his own celebrity spirit, but he wanted to be more involved from start to finish. So instead of simply slapping his name on a label, Gaffigan decided to take things into his own hands.
He called his college friend Stu Pollard, an indie film director from Louisville, and asked, "Can't we just buy a bunch of barrels and do this ourselves?" It was the more difficult route, and one that likely would lose them money, but the duo decided to do it anyway.
The passion project involved a lot of learning and preparation (i.e. drinking a lot of whiskey). "My wife's not thrilled," he says. "She's like, 'You have five kids. Why are you going down to Kentucky all these times and drinking bourbon?' I'm like, 'It's research.'"
Despite starting Fathertime with low expectations, Gaffigan's bourbon was released to major fanfare. The limited-edition batch is already sold out, and he's not sure he'll release another.
"If you know the bourbon world and the whiskey world, it's all about story, right? It's all about history," Gaffigan says. "The fact that this is sold out and it is a quality bourbon is that it'll become more precious."
If you didn't manage to buy a bottle, but want Gaffigan to make an appearance on your bar cart, you can still buy his signature bourbon glasses. Each glass is engraved with a different Gaffigan quote about fatherhood. You can treat the dads in your life (or yourself) to a set at fathertime-bourbon.com.
