As our European ancestors started immigrating to America, they moved on from the eastern coast into the Appalachian Mountains into states such as: The Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and The Virginas.  As the settlers moved out into the backwoods of America, it was first necessary to clear enough land for their new home and a spot for a cash crop, usually corn, which was easy to produce with only a hoe.  These crops weren’t necessarily food for themselves but at that time, farming was a very profitable business as the population of America was booming from massive immigration. 

Since the settler were a long way away from their consumer market, it was necessary to transport their goods over rough terrain to get their goods to the coast.  Although they could produce from forty to sixty bushels of corn per acre from their super rich top soil, it was nearly impossible for them to get ground cornmeal or flour to markets on the eastern seaboard.  In comes the whiskey still!  By distilling down their crop to a potent liquid they could convert their bulky corn, rye or wheat into spirits.  Before a horse could carry about eight bushels of grain, which would bring in about $2, not nearly enough money to justify the journey and effort.  However with whiskey, a horse could carry two 10 gallons kegs of whiskey which could bring in around $20.  Therefore, distilling just made sense to almost all farmers in this area and most of them did make whiskey for that purpose.  An entreprenuerial spirit is what made american whiskey what it is today.