Ok, so some very good friends of mine are having their first kid in a few months, and my plan for a gift is a stuffed dinosaur for now, and a bottle of Something for when said kid comes of legal age, with the theory being that in 20 or so years said bottle will have improved/ become more valuable (so in the freak case that the adult kid doesn’t drink, he/she can sell it for college pizza money or something).
So, what should I buy that should age well? Wine? Champagne? Scotch? What variety? Is anyone here a pro in this sort of thing? What should I look out for?
Thanks in advance.
Rubbing alchohol 
I’m not old enough to drink, but from what I’ve heard, the high proof drinks are best. Try to get ones with other ingredients that won’t spoil. I don’t know about the getting better part.
For wine you need to get what are known as “Monster Reds”. These are the Cabernet Sauvingnons and Super Tuscan red wines that will survive a two decade aging.
Any wine that is drinkable now will not be good in twenty years. You need a red that is almost harsh in its tanin levels and acidity. All of this will slowly mellow over time. Any wine that is drinkable now will be vinegar by the time is hits 20 years old.
You will need to store this wine correctly. I have aged a bottle for 20 years and despite several temperature excursions it was quite good. I wince to think how good would have been had it been in a cellar the entire time.
Look to pay $20-30 dollars for this bottle of wine. You will not get anything that is worthwhile for less. You may wish to hit a wine bar for a “vertical” tasting of the wine you have picked before settling on a choice. It is important to screen the selection before buying. If you have a store owner that you can trust, all the better. It is best for you to do your own research though.
Not ALL alcoholic beverages age.
Scotch will not age in the bottle, it ages in the oak casks before it is put in the bottles. That is why scotch is labeled as “16 years old” versus simply the year it was made. Once it is bottled (taken out of the oak casks), the aging ends. A botle of 25 year old Macallan will taste the same 25 years from now (delicious!).
Red wines age. Some whites age, but not the way reds do. A lot of whites are best young. Vintage port will age in the bottle, whereas a tawny port will not (and vintage ports are labeled by year, whereas tawny are labeled like scotches - 20 years old, 30 years old, etc).
Want my advice? 1997 was a very good vintage for california cabernets. How much do you want to spend? $100? More? Less? Any good cabernet will be even better 20 years from now. Get a bottle of Opus One… Dominus… Caymus Special Selection Cabernet… there are tons of great cabernets.
Some Champagnes age, some dont. Vintage champagnes (with a year on it) age, whereas nonvintage champagnes do not. Dom Perignon, Roederer Cristal, Krug, Veuve Cliquot La Grand Dame, etc… those are all vintage champages. Veuve Cliquot yellow label (the stuff that’s about $42/bottle) is not. If it has a year on the label… it’s probably vintage.
However, if your real goal is for it to increase in value… my best suggestion would be a bottle of red Bordeaux. Get a nice first growth… Margaux, Latour…etc. Get him a bottle of Petrus and he’ll be happy 30 years later
A good bottle of Vintage Port will increase in value a lot as well. Find a 1977 Fonseca ($200ish), one of the best.
Also, another great suggestion for something that ages VERY well is a bottle of great Sauternes. Chateau d’Yquem is the ultimate… 1994 is a good year and rather affordable ($170 or so). 20 years from now it will be worth a lot more than it costs now, and will be a delicious sweet nectar (it is a white French dessert wine, one of the most delicious things man has created).
Then again… a 21 year old is just gonna want beer.