“I think George Washington imposed a tax on distilling alcohol. Whiskey Rebellion or something like that. I would imagine that involved some sort of permit, too.”
That is for amounts that they were going to sell. Not personal consumption.
With the yeasts they got today there really no need to distill, imo. Just treat it like wine in clearing and you got pretty good 40 proof liquor.
Not exactly. Not much has changed. Good luck.
Whiskey Rebellion:
"Hence many farmers and small-businessmen found themselves taxed on the capacity of their stills, which included the amounts of whiskey they consumed personally,"
https://dailyreckoning.com/the-whiskey-rebellion-whiskey-taxes-the-real-thing/