In the 19th century, "whiskey" was nothing like the whiskey we know. Very few distilleries actually sold directly to the public and there were many home distillers, usually farmers who realized that the surplus corn and rye they couldn't afford to ship to the market would be a lot more profitable if they turned it into liquor first.

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Distilleries would generally produce a high proof neutral spirit not unlike the commercial "moonshine" you see today, which would then be sold to rectifiers to further improve the product. The rectifiers would blend whiskeys, possibly do some aging, and often add things like coloring to make the product look more like whiskey. They sold this product to wholesalers (where any aging would be done, if it was), who then sold the product to saloons and stores that would sell to the end customer. The whiskey would be watered down to a lower proof, around 40-50% alcohol by volume, before it eve reached the customer. Otherwise it would be virtually undrinkable.

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A lot of unscrupulous rectifiers and wholesalers would adulterate the product to try and sell it for less. They might water it down more and then add things like acid and lanolin to give it more burn and body and disguise how much weaker it was. Saloon owners might mix two half-empty bottles to save shelf space with little regard to what product was getting mixed with what. You really had no clue what you were going to get if you went in blind.