For years, pressure and aggression with tax collectors rose, so much so that President Washington sent troops to battle.Įven though many favored the whiskey tax, there were just as many people in opposition.
The whiskey rebellion of 1974 was a modern day uprising of farmers and distillers located in Pennsylvania protesting the whiskey tax. While taxes and unions threaten the production of whiskey in Scotland, advancements began to take place in America with the first commercial distillery being founded in Louisville, Kentucky. Many started to realize that distillation, although new, was a great way to make money.Īfter 1600 AD European settlers migrated to America, bringing their distillation process with them. From Spain to Italy and eventually America distillation was used to create wine and whiskey. Here, monasteries would turn fermented grapes and grains into the first concept of modern day whiskey but the Scottish weren’t the only group using distillation as a chance to create alcohol. As word of distillation spread from country to country, so did the increase in travel and once the distillation process migrates to central and south Europe, religious groups take to creating medicinal cures for their most common diseases and ailments (smallpox and colic).įrom 1000AD-1600 the distillation process continued to spread from country to country, eventually making its way to Scotland and Ireland. Through the years the distillation process evolved to the point where it was now being used to create pure drinking water. Whiskey first came to be in the Middle East around 2000 BC, specifically in Iraq and Syria, where the art of distillation was founded back then distillation was commonly used to produce perfume.įrom 100 AD-1000 AD distillation became more widely known as Greek philosopher Alexander Aphrodisias started taking down written records of the process.