Distilled sprits made from fermented liquids were much more potent than the original liquids. The first ones were called aqua vitae (water of life) and used as medicine, but they were quickly assimilated into society as beverages.
Highland Scots and Irish distillers made whiskey. The French distilled wine to make brandy. A Dutch doctors’ experiments produced gin, which is alcohol flavored with the juniper berry.In Russia and Poland the do tolled spirits was vodka. In the West Indies rum was made from sugarcane, while in Mexico, Spaniards distilled the Indians’ native drinks to make mescal, the great-grandfather of today’s’ tequila.
With the increasing supplies of spirits and their high alcohol content excessive became a national problem in several European countries.
Across the Atlantic Americans welcomed the new spirits and soon rum became the most popular drink and New England became a leading manufacturer.
George Washington put rum to political use when he ran for the Virginia legislature, giving each voter a barrel or rum, beer, wine or hard coder. By the end of the century whiskey was challenging rum in popularity.Seeing a potential new income source, the new US Congress enacted the first tax on whiskey production in 1791.
Many of the distiller still trying to recover financially from the Revolutionary War, did not have much money and refused to pay the taxes.
By 1794 President Washington had a real problem on his hand. He mustered 12,000 troops and marched onto Pennsylvania to avert the so-called Whiskey Rebellion.
It ended without a shot being fired, but many angry distillers packed up and moved farther west to enjoy greater freedom and avoid future confrontations.
The Distilled Spirits