The monks, when not distilling the very first known liquor which will be commonly known as Scotch whiskey, were growing food including the ingredients of the mash: barley and the fungi called yeast. The barley is soaked for several days, or “malted,” and after ground (mashed) and fermentation begins. Distilling occurs in copper vats, and the monks pour the distilate into oak casks which would have taken months to build and seal. The casks then sit for six months to many years. The safety and affluence of the monastery, and the frightened reverence the general public would have had for monks, guaranteed this to be one of the few secure places for producing whiskey in the High Middle Ages.
The first commercial distilleries appear at the conclusion of the 15th century, with written receipts for Scotch documented in 1495. As Europe urbanized and materials became more accessible, individuals could design and make more useful stills, those not open to the air and losing the vast majority of product to steam. Coils and other reduction devices for barley distilling came into use, and other grains became popular.
Meanwhile, on which would become the American continent, Native Americans were making alcohol from many native plants, including corn. Europeans arrived to see many foods and grains, and experienced corn whiskey for the first time. In Massachusetts, the Scots-Irish inhabitants settling in and sawing down vast hardwood forests knew how to proceed. They used whatever materials were available to make corn liquor, and as early as 1633 the Massachusetts Colony started demanding a license to distribute it. The struggle between governments seeking revenue and the people who wished to make their own rules about distilleries had commenced.
Of course, people had made wine and ale for much longer than this. Many beverages with alcohol were available, but the private enterprise problems that continue today had started. Before the revolution, still proprietors were left almost entirely alone. Washington and Jefferson ran their own stills. Following the revolution, taxes were applied to all alcohol to help pay war debt and farmers did not approve. Their stills had in large part grown to be their livelihoods.
The Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania was the greatest and best known of the battles moonshiners had with government agents, but the battles continued, large and small, throughout rural areas in the east. The Appalachian Mountains through Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee eventually became renowned for moonshine whiskey and the many tales of backwoods distilling.
Now that your interests are peeked maybe it is time to explore the entire process of making whiskey. You ask "how to make whiskey?" The web is a great place to learn and educate yourself on the art. For more details check out How To Make Whiskey Headquarters. There you will find mash recipes, methods and discussions on still types.
