Lux Row Small Batch Bourbon PX Sherry Cask Finish

The good ol' Whisky Advocate Top 20. I've been paying attention to it for the past four years or so, which I guess is almost half as long as they've been running it. I understand to take it somewhat with a grain of salt. WA is a lifestyle magazine mostly designed to move produce, but it's not terribly expensive and I like looking at glossy pictures of whisky bottles, sue me. Plus, lists are meant to be argued over, not definitive. But if I'm being honest, I usually get my hands on anywhere from 2-4 of the whiskies listed on it every year, and while I might sometimes wonder about placement (Jack Daniels Bonded at #1, really?) or whether there really weren't other more deserving whiskies out there (Ezra Brooks 99 Rye), I'm never actually disappointed in the whiskies themselves. Yes, even that Ezra Rye is quite pleasing as a sipper when you factor in that it's $23/bottle. Thing about this year is that even the ones that aren't cost prohibitive (I'm probably never going to drop the money it takes to get Maker's Mark Cellar Age even though I love almost anything Maker's I've ever tasted) weren't easily available where I'm located. I just sent my friend in Chicago a bottle of Torabhaig Legacy Series Sound of Sleat, this year's #9, because I could order it from Binny's to go directly to him while I can't ship myself a bottle because of my state's liquor laws. In any case, this dram #17, the Lux Row Bourbon, finished in PX Sherry Casks was on sale for $39 (SRP $60) and right there on the shelf of the FW&GS location right next to my therapist's office (one stop shop to get the two things to help your mental state, am I right?). And you know me, I brag about it all the time when I do my writeups here: I can't pass up a bargain. And this whisky is really solid. High rye tends to be how I prefer bourbon, and this fits the mold. Very sweet nose with both the corn and the sherry giving it a candy coated aroma, musky in a way that always make me think of a mix of cinnamon and coco powder. It's 112 proof, so the palate is nice and full but without too much fire (though sometimes because I drink higher proof whisky I don't think something is strong whereas others who don't drink strong whisky find it fiery, so take that with this disclaimer). The palate adds a touch of raspberry/blackberry to what's on the nose. There's a bit of cherry Luden's flavor toward the back end, and it's got that nice peppery finish. Having enjoyed it, I do wonder about the SRP. Is it worth $60, I'm not sure I can recommend it at that price, but for $39 it's a knockout. Very enjoyable. Of course my main problem with that Whisky Advocate Top 20 isn't placement or that I often don't think whiskies deserve to appear on it. After all, if I haven't tasted everything released in a given year (and that's how they do it, in case you didn't know, to appear there it has to be a new release that year...and new batches of old products like ECBP count), so how could I know whether a particular whisky deserves its placement. No, my main problem is that after a whisky places on the list, demand goes up, distilleries start to feel themselves, and they jack up the price. A prime example is Old Ezra 7 Year Bourbon. The year it placed at #7, it was $40, and worth every penny. The next year it was $55 dollars and maybe stretching it. Now it's about $80 dollars and if you're fool enough to buy it, more power to you for not knowing you shouldn't. I could see Lux Row pulling the same trick. I just hope they don't.