Your “Rejoice, For The Weekend Is Upon Us” Friday Evening Open Thread

NFL News:

Finally, it’s been 15 years (September 23, 2001) since the hit that changed the NFL:

Thanks Mo Lewis. Putting Drew Bledsoe in the hospital brought on the rise of The Dreamboat, The Hoodie, and the start of most Patriots fans fandom.

So, in the past I’ve done a “Malt of the Month” write-up, brought to you via “The Whisky Exchange”, a British mailing list I belong to. It’s mostly booze-porn but I’ll usually order 1-2 bottles/year of product you can’t find in Canada. I have to ship it to the US because it’s cheaper, and because you can’t order hard liquor by mail in BC.

Well, much like Playboy used to have those bi-annual “Special Editions”, the mailing list sent out a doozy of a “Special Release” notice the other day. Included are both special release editions from famous distilleries and released inventories from shuttered distilleries. Among the highlights:

BRORA 1977 – Distillery closed in 1983.

Age: 38 years old.

ABV: 48.6%.

# of Bottles in release: 2,984

Price: £1,425

Nose: Waxed boots and jackets, damp blankets and dogs, meaty touches with a hint of farmyard, autumn-leaf bonfires, musty cheese rind (in a good way) and a touch of tinned pineapple.

LAGAVULIN 25 YEAR OLD – 200th Anniversary Limited Edition

Age: 25 years old

ABV: 55%

# of bottles in release: 8000

Price: £799

Nose: Leather, salty peat, seashells, salted butter and sharp sea-spray. Rounded Crunchie-bar sweetness and fruity notes sat underneath, with sultanas, rich fruit cake and dark chocolate. Punchy medicinal notes and bung cloth are balanced by elegant waxed jacket notes, barley sugar, fruit gums and a hint of barrel char.

PORT ELLEN 1978 – Distillery closed in 1983.

Age: 37 years old.

ABV: 55.2%

# of bottles in release: 2,940

Price: £2,450

Nose: Sugared almonds, chamois leather, sherbet lemons, oily smoke, a hint of empty fish tins, brine, floral heather honey and bung cloth – an avalanche of flavours which work impressively well. As things calm down in the glass, spicy rye bread, musty green ferns and touches of hay appear.

It’s an intense dram, with water only adding more intensity – one to drink neat.

For the whisky drinkers among the Commentist Party, I give you your new gods.

Tonight’s sports:

MLB:

Yankees vs. Blue Jays (7:00 PM EST, ESPN2)

Kansas City Royals vs. Detroit Tigers (7:00 EST, TSN2)

CFB:

TCU vs. SMU (8:00 PM EST, ESPN)

Southern California vs. Utah (9:00 PM EST, FS1)

CFL

Toronto Argonauts vs. Ottawa REDBLACKS (7:00 PM EST, TSN1, 3, 4, 5)

Apologies for a truncated preview – our site maintenance is still fucking a lot of things up but we are so grateful to have the guidance of Internet Dad, aka our very own Darkest Timeline Zack Morris, working hard as hell to get everything fixed up. He’s a solid dude. Anyways, for those of you still currently able to log in – enjoy the open thread tonight as much as you can. Have fun! – The Maestro