Bourbon whiskey bourbon and Tennessee whiskey together. According to the Distilled Spirits Council, during 2009–2014, the volume of 9-liter cases of whiskey increased by 28.5% overall. Higher-end bourbon and whiskeys experienced the greatest growth. During 2009–14, the volume of the value segment increased by 12.1%, premium by 25.8%, high-end premium by 27.8%, and super-premium by 123.8%. Gross supplier revenues (including federal excise tax) for U.S. bourbon and Tennessee whiskey increased by 46.7% over the 2009–14 period, with the greatest growth coming from high-end products (18.7% growth for value, 33.6% for premium, 44.5% for high-end premium, and 137.2% for super-premium). In 2014, more
Whiskey Rebellion Farmers living west of the Appalachian Mountains distilled their excess grain into whiskey, which was easier and more profitable to transport over the mountains than the more cumbersome grain. A whiskey tax would make western farmers less competitive with eastern grain producers. Additionally, cash was always in short supply on the frontier, so whiskey often served as a medium of exchange. For poorer people who were paid in whiskey, the excise was essentially an income tax that wealthier easterners did not pay. Small-scale farmers also protested that Hamilton's excise effectively gave unfair tax breaks to large distillers, most of whom