Rye has very low yields per pound of grain in a run. Tastes excellent, but not commercially feasible for the big guys.
If you don’t count the craft distillers, there are only 13 major distilleries in the US producing 350 labels of whiskey.
China is fueling the new demand. They finally discovered bourbon, and are now the world’s leading consumer.
I can verify that... I've been in China (and Thailand) for the past two weeks.. coming home TODAY, YEA! I've been in some fairly remote places. In years past, the ONLY kinds of non-beer alcohol you would find out there was Johnny Walker scotch and the unbelievably crappy Chinese wine, Bai-ju.
On this trip, I have been pleasantly surprised to see Jim Beam available almost everywhere. It's expensive as hell... but, it's here.
Knob Creek rye makes a good Manhattan.