*** History alert! ***
January 27, 2025
Whiskey Tax of 1791
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loginAfter a spirited debate, the House passed, by a 35 to 21 majority, the Excise Whiskey Tax—legislation that proved wildly unpopular with farmers and eventually precipitated the “Whisky Rebellion.” The measure levied a federal tax on domestic and imported alcohol, earmarked to offset a portion of the federal government’s recent assumption of state debts. Southern and western farmers, whose grain crop was a chief ingredient in whiskey, loudly protested the tax. In 1794, farmers in western Pennsylvania attacked federal officials seeking to collect tax on the grain they had distilled into whiskey. The administration of President George Washington dispatched a force of nearly 13,000 militia to put down a feared revolt. Resistance, however, dissipated when the troops arrived. This happened in parts of Virginia as well..
So all the farmers (rednecks) pulled up their stakes and set up distilleries in TN and KY. It all started with our first president George Washington. Hmmmm those boys are getting paid?!!!! Send some troops and tax them. These boys said, oh hell no! lol
After the moonshiners set up shop they packed their whisky into oak barrels to store it and floated it down the mighty Mississippi River to New Orleans. A great way to transport it undetected. Most folks don't know this but whisky was clear back then. By the time it floated down the river the oak barrel had tinted the whisky color to caramel that we know today.
Bourbon whiskey /bɜːrbən/ is a type of American whiskey, a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name ultimately derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise inspiration for the whiskey's name is unsettled; contenders include Bourbon County in Kentucky and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, both of which are named for the dynasty. Bourbon has been distilled since the 18th century. The use of the term "bourbon" for the whiskey has been traced to the 1820s, and the term began to be used consistently in Kentucky in the 1870s. While bourbon may be made anywhere in the United States, it is strongly associated with the American South, and with Kentucky in particular. As of 2014, the distillers' wholesale market revenue for bourbon sold within the U.S. is about $2.7 billion, and bourbon makes up about two-thirds of the $1.6 billion of U.S. exports of distilled spirits.
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loginThe House of Bourbon reaches as far back as the mid 13th century and boasts descendants as famed as Louis XIV (aka The Sun King) and Louis XVI (aka The King Who Got Freakin’ Beheaded). However, it’s important to note how unlikely it is that bourbon whiskey was named directly after French royalty. It’s more likely the booze was named for Bourbon County, Kentucky, where much of the sweet elixir was (and still is) distilled in the 19th century.
More than you ever wanted to know about bourbon.
(more to come)
