The best retirement gift for a dad is something waiting for him on the first free Monday, when the cards have come down and the diary is suddenly blank. A make your own kit does that better than a watch or a decanter, because it is a job with a start, a middle and something edible or drinkable at the end. Bacon in about a week, gin in a couple of days, wine in eight to twelve weeks: three different speeds, all of them his to run.
Retirement presents tend to fall into two piles, the ceremonial and the consumable. Kits sit outside both. They are not a trophy and they are not gone by Sunday, they are the start of something he might still be doing next summer.
What does a newly retired man actually want to be given?
Ask around and the honest answer is rarely an object. It is a reason to get up and do a specific thing, preferably one with a visible result and no committee attached. Forty years of work leaves a habit of having a task, and the first few months of retirement can feel oddly shapeless without one.
That is what makes a kit a good fit. It comes with measured ingredients and a printed booklet, so there is no research phase and nothing to join. He opens the box, buys one item from the shops, and by the end of the week there is bacon in the fridge that he made. If it takes, our booklets include the recipes, so he can carry on with his own ingredients rather than waiting to be given another box.
The bacon kit, for a proper job with a proper result
Of everything we sell, the Bacon Making Kit is the one that turns into a habit most often. It makes dry cured bacon in three flavours, pancetta, fennel and juniper, and chilli and garlic, and it takes about a week from rubbing on the cure to the first rasher. The cure is measured out: a traditional dry mix of salt and sugar with sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate, which protects the meat while it cures and is the easiest and safest way to do this at home.
The appeal for a man who has always fancied doing things properly is the difference in the pan. Dry cured and air dried bacon crisps rather than leaking water and shrinking, and the flavour is firmly his own choice. What to add: a piece of pork belly from a butcher, or a 500g pork loin joint with the skin removed if he prefers back bacon, and some space in the fridge to hang it while it air dries. It must be cooked through before eating.
The wine kit, for the long game
The Hedgerow Wine Making Kit makes one gallon per batch, about four and a half litres or six bottles, ready in eight to twelve weeks. In the box are wine yeast, yeast nutrient, pectolase, finings, citric acid, a stabiliser tablet and steriliser, with a recipe table covering blackberry, elderberry, elderflower, apple, plum, rhubarb and more. It is for personal use at home, and for adults aged 18 and over.
This is the kit for a dad who likes a project he can check on. Three days of lively first fermentation, then straining the fruit off, then weeks of quiet second fermentation while the wine clears and the airlock ticks over. What to add: a 5 litre food grade bucket with a lid, a demijohn or second bucket with an airlock, a siphon tube, kitchen scales and reused screw top bottles, plus fruit and ordinary granulated sugar. Giving the bucket and airlock alongside removes the only real barrier to starting.
The ultimate gin kit, for the one who likes options
If he is more interested in tinkering than waiting, the Ultimate Gin Making Kit gives him thirteen botanicals to play with: juniper, lemon peel, orange peel, ginger, coriander seed, allspice, lemongrass, cacao nibs, hibiscus, rose petals, cassia bark, nutmeg and cloves. It makes up to ten 700ml bottles, each infusing in a couple of days, so he can build a blend, taste it with the pipette, write down what he did and change one thing next time.
There is no distilling involved. The botanicals steep in a spirit that has already been made, which is what makes it a kitchen table job rather than anything requiring approval or equipment. What to add: a bottle of inexpensive vodka per batch, 700ml, bought one at a time rather than ten at once. Supermarket own brand is the right call, since a premium vodka's subtleties vanish under the juniper. A notebook is a surprisingly good companion gift. For adults aged 18 and over.
How do you give it so it gets started?
Attach the missing item. The pork, the vodka, the bucket. A kit with a shopping errand in front of it can sit in a cupboard for months, while a kit with everything to hand tends to be opened the same weekend.
Think about when, too. A kit handed over at the leaving do competes with speeches and a card the size of a table. One that arrives a fortnight later, when the house has gone quiet, often lands better. Kits keep either way: ours have an eighteen month shelf life from packing and leave us with at least twelve months on the best before date printed on the box.
If he is not local, you can send a kit straight to him by entering his address as the delivery address at checkout. Our kits are hand packed in Britain, dispatched the same day on orders placed before 2pm Monday to Friday, and posted by Royal Mail.
Retirement gifts for dad FAQs
Which kit is best for a complete beginner?
All three are written for beginners, but the gin kit is the gentlest start. It is a matter of adding botanicals to vodka, waiting a couple of days, tasting and straining, with no equipment to buy.
How long before he has something to show for it?
Gin takes a couple of days per batch, bacon about a week from cure to first rasher, and hedgerow wine eight to twelve weeks from fruit to glass.
Does he need a smoker or a still?
No. The bacon kit uses a cold dry cure and air dries in the fridge, and the gin kit works by steeping botanicals in shop bought vodka, so there is nothing to distil and no special equipment.
What does he need to buy for the wine kit?
Fruit and ordinary white granulated sugar, plus a 5 litre bucket with a lid, a demijohn or second bucket with an airlock, a siphon tube and some bottles. Reused screw top wine bottles are perfect.
Can the kit be posted straight to him?
Yes. Enter his address as the delivery address at checkout and it goes directly to him rather than coming to you first.
Not sure which speed suits him? Look through the full range of gift kits and pick the project that matches how he likes to spend a morning.
