Back in the 1860s the US government put a tax on distilled spirits, requiring that they be aged in charred casks to prove that the tax was paid. "White" whiskey, as opposed to "red", was therefore illegal whiskey.

The tax, the government's third attempt, succeeded. It was intended to pay off the costs of the Civil War.

Your whiskey's still "red" -- and the CW has been over for a couple of weeks....