Raise a Glass to the Whiskey Rebellion

-


 On this date in 1794, President George Washington called out 13,000 militia from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey to suppress a revolt by farmers in western Pennsylvania who widely distilled corn into whiskey and ran off federal agents attempting to collect an excise tax on the product (as well as all other distilled spirits) passed by Congress in 1791. Washington took personal command of the militia. The prospect of potentially being attacked soon caused the collapse of the tax protest, known to history as the Whiskey Rebellion. It was a crucial first test of the ability of the new, Constitution-based federal government to successfully maintain internal order.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 12-Mile Limit

-
Image
  Where do international waters begin? Historically, a country could claim as its own the waters from its shoreline out to a distance of three nautical miles—supposedly because it was the farthest that a cannon ball fired from land could reach. During Prohibition, the three-mile limit was still recognized under international law. But as far as the United States Coast Guard was concerned, it did not apply to rum runners, who were subject to U.S. jurisdiction as soon as they came within 12 nautical miles. (Fun fact: In 1982 the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea made the 12-mile limit the norm.) The Prohibition-era 12-mile limit accounts for the otherwise bewildering name of the Prohibition-era Twelve-Mile-Limit Cocktail, a seemingly bizarre but delicious blend of rum, brandy, and rye whiskey. Here’s how you make it. First, chill a coupe glass, because your cocktail is going to land in it. Then, in a mixing tin, add the following ingredients: 1/2 ounce fresh lemon j...
Read more

The Moscow Mule

-
Image
The Moscow Mule is not quite the simplest cocktail to make--that distinction goes to the Screwdriver (vodka + orange juice) and similar two-ingredient drinks that you just pour into a tall glass filled with ice, period. But it's pretty damn simple. As cocktail historian David Wondrich maintains, with only slight exaggeration, "your dog could make one." The charm of the Moscow Mule is twofold. First, simple or not, it's delicious and refreshing. Second, it has a good origin story. Nearly every cocktail has the same origin story: "Necessity is the mother of invention" combined with a brilliant flash of genius that invents the recipe on the spot. Mostly this is just folklore, but in the case of the Moscow Mule it's pretty much straight reporting. Here's how it goes. Although ubiquitous nowadays, in 1941 vodka was still relatively little-known in the United States. So when John G. Martin, the senior executive of G.F. Heublin, an alcoholic beverage f...
Read more

Irish Coffee

-
Image
  How to make an Irish Coffee With one small exception, Irish Coffee is idiot proof. (For the exception, read the paragraph below that starts with “Here’s the slightly tricky part.”   Do it now or you’ll definitely regret it.) You’ll need a 12 oz. mug.   Fill it with hot water to ensure that the coffee remains hot when you pour it in.   Then, obviously, before you start building the drink, pour the hot water out. Pour in 1/4 oz.   Demerara syrup.   (It’s 2 parts Demerara sugar to 1 part water.) Add about 3 oz. of coffee.   (You can make the coffee yourself, but since the coffee is a key ingredient, unless you’re a coffee aficionado it’s better just to do what I did:   stop at the local Starbucks and bring home a large cup of breakfast blend coffee.) Stir long enough to make sure the syrup and coffee are well mixed. Add 1 oz.   of Irish whiskey.   Traditionally Catholics favor Jameson while Protestants prefer Bushmills, inform...
Read more