I tend to agree. When Yamazaki 12 was around $50, I'd go in for a bottle every now and then. At twice the price now, it's just overpriced relative to comparable Whisky from Scotland. I'd rather have a bottle of Springbank.
Speaking of world whisky, if you can find it, try Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique. It's one of my favorite single malts in the past couple years.
My whiskey guy tried to sell me on a pricey Kavalan (he had a whole collection of them) and I ended up getting a Compass Box instead. But I'm going on vacation next week and buying a whole bunch of bottles to take with. Do me a favor and sell me on the Kavalan? I'm maybe a little skeptical of Taiwanese whiskey.
I've had two kavalans while traveling in china recently, both were forgettable. Decent enough but very expensive for what they were. Both were bourbon cask so maybe another expression would be better. Compass Box has never let me down, though this is not a luxury whiskey is the only super high end one I've ventured into.
I don't recall all the ones I've tried. They remind me of a nice Speyside. At least the sherry cask ones, do. The Solist Vinho Barrique is in toasted ex-wine casks and has a complexity that I would compare to Glendronach 15 or Glenfarclas 105.
I liked it that much. I've tried a couple others. The sherry cask one I liked, and the others, not so much. I think they're just young, still.
If you're in or around Taiwan, I think you can get the Solist Vinho Barrique for under $100 US, which is a hell of a deal. In the US, who knows. Definitely taste it first before you go all in on a bottle.
They flooded the local (Chicago) distributors recently. That stuff has shown up all over the place. If someone can sell you on it, let me know cause I couldn't get into it either.
Maybe look for McCarthy's (Oregon single malt in the "light" islay style), if you are looking for another interesting single malt made outside of scotland.
I like the Suntory Toki a lot (different flavor than Yamazaki 12 or Suntory Habiki 17). You can find it at a lot of Costco stores (state dependent), BevMo!, etc for around $40 a bottle.
Speaking of world whisky, if you can find it, try Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique. It's one of my favorite single malts in the past couple years.