In 1791, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton proposed an excise tax on domestically produced distilled spirits. The tax was a part of Hamilton’s plan to promote the federal government and pay back the country’s large debt from the Revolutionary War. Farmers living west of the Appalachian Mountains were veterans who distilled their excess grain and corn into whiskey, using it as a medium of exchange.

For them, the tax was reminiscent of the excise taxes that launched the American Revolution and represented taxation without (local) representation. As tax officials set out to collect the tax in these areas, farmers began to voice their defiance of the law. In 1792, they rebelled.

The Whiskey Rebellion lasted until 1794, and two presidential administrations later, the tax was repealed. Historians agree that it was the first test of American freedom when George Washington handled it without resorting to tyranny. The rebels’ cause and community also gave birth to a new movement of American beverages – bourbon.