The reason is there's a far bigger variety than there ever has been.
The problem I have with imported whiskey is that generally the country that exports it keeps the best stuff for themselves. While traveling and living abroad, I quickly noticed a much bigger variety of locally produced whiskey while finding the most miserable dreck trying to pass for American whiskey. Even though the American whiskey I found was terrible, there was still a high demand and high price for it because of the reputation American whiskey has in other places. The same thing happens here in the states. We tend to get the worst of it and pay the highest prices.
That's not to say you can't find good imported whiskey here in the states, but most of what you will find is mass produced stuff that has little attention to detail. When it comes to whiskey, details matter. The very best stuff is made with the very best ingredients. It's aged in the very best barrels. It's selected for bottling at the optimum time of maturity. It's blended to produce the greatest character from that particular bottling cycle. It doesn't need artificial flavors and colors, or other alcohols added which is quite common in the mass produced stuff. There's a lot of new production both domestically and worldwide which are achieving high standards. Believe it or not, Japan is making some very good whiskey these days. I just think your best bet right now is to find whiskey that is produced closer to where you live. The variety and value are both much more likely to be higher.
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