Stills had to be licensed, barrels had to stamped, logbooks had to be kept on site. Only an idiot would think that you can tax an item without regulations.
There is a great difference between the bureaucratic "regulations" needed collect a tax (and which only apply to the manufacturers of same) , and regulations mandating the mode of use or non-use of an item by the public at large. It you don't understand that simple fact, then YOU are the idiot.