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18th century

In 1707, the Acts of Union merged England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and thereafter taxes on distilled spirits rose dramatically. Following parliament's divisive malt tax of 1725, most of Scotland's distillation was either shut down or forced underground. Scotch whisky was hidden under altars, in coffins, and in any available space to avoid the governmental excisemen or revenuers. Scottish distillers, operating out of homemade stills, took to distilling whisky at night when the darkness hid the smoke from the stills. For this reason, the drink became known as moonshine. At one point, it was estimated that over half of Scotland's whisky output was illegal.

In America, whisky was used as currency during the American Revolution; George Washington operated a large distillery at Mount Vernon. Given the distances and primitive transportation network of colonial America, farmers often found it easier and more profitable to convert corn to whisky and transport it to market in that form. It also was a highly coveted trade good, and when an additional excise tax was levied against it in 1791, the Whiskey Rebellion erupted.