BARDSTOWN, Ky. — The Kentucky Distillers’ Association today announced the newest members of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony was held Sept. 16 before a sold-out crowd at The Legacy at Log Still Distillery in Nelson County. Founded in 2001, the Hall of Fame is the highest honor in Kentucky’s $9 billion bourbon industry.

The honor recognizes individuals whose “sacrifice, passion and determination make Kentucky Bourbon what it is today,” the association said.

The 2025 inductees are Craig Beam, Mary Dowling, Larry Ebersold, Chris Morris, and Damon Thayer.

One of those honorees is known by many as the mother of bourbon. Mary Dowling is just one of 11 women ever inducted into the Hall of Fame.

A pioneering Kentucky distiller and businesswoman, her life was marked by

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