The Whiskey Ring was an American bribery scandal that took place from 1871 to 1875 during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant. The scandal involved a conspiracy among whiskey distillers and distributors to bribe U.S. government officials to avoid paying government excise taxes on liquor. In 1875, it was revealed that high-level officials within President Grant’s administration had conspired with the distillers to illegally pocket liquor taxes that should have been paid to the government.
By the time the scandal ended, Grant had become the first sitting American president to appoint—and fire—a special prosecutor, and to voluntarily testify as a defense witness in a criminal trial. Allegations that the Republican Party had used the illegally held tax money to fund Grant’s 1872 reelection campaign stirred public concern. While Grant was never implicated, his private secretary, Orville E. Babcock, was indicted in the conspiracy but was acquitted after Grant testified to his innocence.
