The
Whiskey Rebellion by William Hodgeland, 2006, Excerpts
Whiskey came in vogue
early in the eighteenth century with the influx of Scots-Irish settlers, who
brought expertise in domestic distilling. The Scots-Irish were notably tough
descendants of Protestant Scots peasantry, who had resettled in Ulster and then
been forced, by exorbitant rents and English taxes, to migrate to North
America. By the time of the revolution, domestic whiskey was gaining popularity
and would replace rum as the country’s drink.
Eighteenth-century
Americans distilled whiskey just as their ancestors had, using a pot still. The
good product was clear. Inhaling it would water the eyes and rustle nose hairs.
Swallowed, it made a hard impact, then a glowing heat; in the end, the feeling
was surprisingly smooth, and soon after recovery, another shot might seem to be
in order. Barrel storage darkened the drink and brought out redolent grain,
woodsmoke, sugar. Drunken raw or aging, whiskey abruptly makes the drinker and
the world different.
Many small farmers
distilled seasonally. Whiskey was consumed by men, women, and children at all
times of the day and every sort of gathering muster, church, election, work,
dance, and fight. Often a community distiller kept pot stills going through the
harvest, and farmers brought in their grain and took away the whiskey, paying
the distiller in a portion of product.
The best whiskey was
known to come from the Forks of the Ohio, whose “Monongahela rye” possessed
consistent strength and purity. The region achieved brand recognition. Its
whiskey was known by name in Philadelphia and in New Orleans. More than a
fourth of the stills in America were located at the Forks of the Ohio.
Whiskey became
currency in places where coin wasn’t seen. Barter paralyzed local economies,
but whiskey was a true medium, always exchangeable for cash somewhere down the
line, thus maintaining value against metal. A liquid commodity both literally
and figuratively, the drink democratized local economies, offering even tenants
and sharecroppers laborers a benefit. Tenants often wanted to pay rent, and
laborers often got paid, in a portion of the grain they harvested. Community
stills transformed, for a cut, such cumbersome forms of payment into something
fungible. And while landlords often refused in-kind crops, or demanded them in
extravagant quantities, they’d take whiskey for rent.
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