So, what are you drinking now?

@PMessinger Sound like a great night, man. I know you love your Friday grill nights. What's going on the weber later?

@teebone673 You're right love the grill night. Tonight just some burgers and blended, tomarrow four different family groups in town, ribs for Washington St, Minnesota, Pittsburg, and Toledo. Plenty of scotch and grilling this weekend. :)

@PMessinger Awesome. Nothing better than ribs on the grill. Sounds like a great weekend ahead. Enjoy, my friend!

What scotch goes with ribs? And are they grilled or slow cooked and smoked over indirect heat?

Started off with a 12 year Glenfarclas (1.152 - "Jelly Belly Beans Galore"). This is a very unusual Glenfarclas. Ex-bourbon cask as opposed to the normal sherry. I'm getting a hint of peat in the finish. It's also quite spicy. Great dram.

Finishing the night with a 25 year Port Ellen from The Old Malt Cask - Distilled Nov.1982 Bottled January 2008. I've heard that when this distillery closed in 1983, grown men cried... I can see why.

@Nozinan Not sure yet what scotch maybe something Peated and Smokey perhaps. :)

@PMessinger

If it's a blend, try Peat Monster.

Ballantines 17y. This bottle has been waiting in my cabinet for a year now.

I just finished a big project at work, which started a year ago. At the start I bought this bottle as an incentive for myself. I could open it only after the official Go Live. That day was August 1st, so now I can finally see what all the controversy is all about!

First impression: Delicate.

Got a bottle of Glenlivet 21 Archive tonight. just finished my first dram. Wow. This stuff is awesome. Fruity, perfume nose, big oak spice in the nose. Palate was oranges, apples, honey, raisins and strong spices from cinnamon and big oak. Long spicy finish, more cinnamon, more wood. Wonderful.

@teebone673, I am with you on liking the Glenlivet 21 yo Archive in a big way. Thanks for the samples, @MichaelSchout.

Suntory Old Whisky. An inexpensive blend that I quite enjoy.

... and now on to Miyagikyou 10!... Yum!

Just cracked open the Thomas H. Handy 2012 release. It was a real firecracker, and typically Handy. With a few drops of water, though, it turned into something really special. Still a few rough edges, but it wouldn't be the Handy if it didn't.

Last night had a Compass Box Great King St Artist's Blend, followed by a couple of locally produced American Rye's.

Blue Spirits (Lake Chelan, WA) Straight Rye Whisky Distiller's Select Aged 5 years - this one was too sweet for me. Not bad, just more bourbon-like than rye.

John Jacob Handmade Rye Whiskey (Freemont Mischief Distillery-Seattle, WA) - this one was the better of the two in my opinion. Less sweet, more rye-forward.

Finished the night with a 13 year Bunnahabhain (1997) Port finish by Murray McDavid (Bottled 2010)

@numen, yes I have this too - very very good.

@wtrstrnghlt, one of my very favourite scotches - let us know what you think!

Ardbeg Corryvreckan - A whirlpool of flavor! Opened this last night and it is a stunner! The complexity is incredible in both the nose and palate while the peat smoke has a firm presence but is not overwhelming. The intense heat adds another dimension and compliments the dry exit into a medium-long dry finish. Does anyone else pick up a wine influence in this one? Empty glass this morning was full of oak, no wine.

L12 107 18:46 6ML

@paddockjudge I also pick up some winey notes in the palate and finish of the Corry. I remember reading that the Corry is partially matured in Burgundy casks. It would be interesting to know the details.

@Jonathan, I've been sitting on this bottle for some time and the wait was definitely worthwhile.

I had the good fortune to be introduced to Ardbeg while attending a tasting last year with a bunch of fine connosr members that are huge bourbon fans as well as huge malt fans. It just so happens that I picked up another bottle of this and, luckily for me, it is from the same batch with the same time stamp. I say luckily because they were purchased hundreds of miles and many months apart.

Tonight it is some Springbank 18yr and Octomore Orpheus. Both are great the whole family says the Orpheus is the best of the two. I agree. :)

Finishing off the Amrut Intermediate Sherry (after decanting most into a 240 cc bottle. Probably suffered a little from being lonely in the bottle.

My son had a nap and the IS is the perfect thing to accompany my staying up till he's ready for bed...

I have just opened a bottle of Amrut Portonova, Batch #3, which comes in at 62.1 ABV. Fantastic dram, with very complex array of smells and flavours.

@Rodstar You will love the Amrut Portonova --- it is truly an outstanding malt!

Cutty Sark whisky sour, made with fresh, hand squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest infused simple syrup with a twist of lemon rind...you can hardly taste the Cutty Sark, which is definitely a good thing!

Revisiting my 6cl sample of Caol Ila. A little bit different then two weeks ago, no BBQ today. But still the combo of Caol Ila Moch and Laproaigh 10.

Further more, I completely agree with the review @galg wrote connosr.com/reviews/caol-ila/…

Enjoying one of the few remaining drams in my bottle of Glengoyne 17. Seems to have picked up some wet dog notes on the nose since my last dram a few months ago, but still excellent stuff.

A bottle worth replacing, although it's getting scarce since it was replaced by the 18 in Glengoyne's lineup last year. I did a quick Google search for reviews of the 18, and they seem overwhelmingly positive -- several raves, in fact. So maybe I won't miss the 17 too much.

@WhiskyBee: Wait 'til you try the Glengoyne Cask Strength Batch #1 - This is the real deal & then some!

Slainte!

@A'bunadhman - I haven't seen it available in the US yet, but it's worth considering as an import purchase. I'd never say no to a favorite brand at cask strength, after all.

@WhiskyBee: We have the 4 new expressions available and the cask seems the best value - It's a shame they have kept the ABV. low. Both the 15yo. and 18yo. are 43% ABV. and the 10yo. a miserly 40% ABV. The 18yo. is Au.$149.00, the Cask $99.00 and a respectable 58.7% ABV. so, I'll stick with the Cask which ticks all my boxes and then some!

Cheers.

Tonight some more of this weekends surprise Springbank 18yr old. Wow there is a lot going on in this bottle. :)