It's also called "red whiskey" because after the (un)Civil War the US required that all whiskey be aged in charred casks. That is, all whiskey upon which the tax had been paid...so you had "white whiskey" and "red whiskey." "White whiskey" would get you arrested or at least your run would be taken away by the dag-slab Revenooers or the local sheriff, if you didn't pay him enough.