Weekend Extra: Felten On Scotch, Krall On Christmas

Eric Felten, trombonist, singer, band leader and occasional Rifftides correspondent, is a talented free lance writer. Now and then he does a column—“How’s Your Drink?”—for the weekend Wall Street Journal. This weekend, his topic is single malt scotches. In our affluent culture, single malts have become a passion of people who, a few years ago, might have been coveting rare cigars. Felten reports that some single malts sell for more than $50,000 a bottle.

Driving these prices are extremely limited quantities. The Dalmore 62 was created in 2002 when the distillery combined what it had from four old casks -- 1868, 1878, 1926 and 1939 -- yielding just enough whiskey to fill 12 bottles. Most of the rare single-malt scotches are bottled from individual casks, which, depending on the type, hold from 200 to 500 liters when filled. But when old casks are finally tapped, they give up far less than that. Evaporation steals between 1% and 2% of the whiskey every year -- the "angels' share," as it is called.

I wish that I could link you to the column, but the Journal restricts its online content to electronic edition subscribers. The best alternative is to pick up a print copy of the weekend edition published today.

The Personal Journal section also includes a short list of Diana Krall’s favorite Christmas recordings. Her own new CD would be on my short list, if for no other reason than her moving treatment of Irving Berlin’s “Count Your Blessings.” The Christmas album is a lovely way for Krall to bounce back after the boredom of her excursion into pop territory, The Girl In The Other Room.