Hamilton's Excise Tax of 1791 placed a heavy tax on

It took a heavy tax on whiskey

whiskey

Explanation:

If you don't Hamilton, then you can never fully understand Washington's presidency without knowledge of his political son.

Jk

But seriously.

This excise tax led to an uproar among southern farmers known as the Whiskey Rebellion, which Washington was able to stop by deploying the military into action. This tax also made Thomas Jefferson pretty p'ed off.