Taxation on whiskey was a controversial topic in early America, especially on the frontier, which, in the late 17^th century, of course included Kentucky.  Look up “Whiskey Rebellion” on Google to read a lot more about it. The law taxing whiskey passed in 1791, and it was not until 1798 that one William Clarke, a federal attorney, began prosecuting those who hadn’t paid the tax.  The court docket gives us the names of lots of folks in the whiskey distilling business in those early days.  Keep in mind that Mason County is much larger during this time than it is now, due to the formation of additional counties.  For lots more on the subject see Willard Rouse Jillson’s Early Kentucky Distillers, 1783-1800, (1940) the source of this data.  The tax levied was seven cents a gallon.