The Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) announced the names of this year’s inductees into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame this week. The KDA said the 2025 class “features a longtime legislative champion, a trailblazing female entrepreneur, a key architect of the craft distilling boom, a 7th-generation distiller of a storied Bourbon family and a 50-year veteran whose name is synonymous with whiskey quality, integrity and industry leadership.”
Leading the group is Chris Morris, Brown-Forman Master Distiller Emeritus, who will receive the Parker Beam Lifetime Achievement Award. The KDA calls the award “the industry’s highest honor.” See the list of the other honorees in the box below.
The 2025 class will be inducted in the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame at a private ceremony in September.
“Even though they come from a variety of backgrounds, these distinguished leaders all have one thing in common: an unrivaled passion for Kentucky bourbon that has shaped our timeless craft into the global economic and tourism powerhouse it is today. We look forward to celebrating them and their achievements in September — Bourbon Heritage Month® — along with hundreds of bourbon’s most iconic legends and luminaries, all showcasing how bourbon builds Kentucky.”
2025 Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame Inductees
Here is the 23rd class of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame®, in alphabetical order:
- Craig Beam, 66, Bardstown, Ky. A seventh-generation distiller, Beam learned the art and science behind crafting great whiskeys under the tutelage of his grandfather, Earl, and father, Parker, both legendary Master Distillers and Bourbon Hall of Fame inductees from Heaven Hill Distillery. Now in his fourth decade, Craig is showcasing his award-winning talents and continuing his legacy as Master Distiller at Jackson Purchase Distillery in Western Kentucky, one of the Commonwealth’s fastest-growing contract distillers.
- The late Mary Dowling, Lawrenceburg, Ky. An acclaimed symbol of resiliency and pioneering spirit, Mary Dowling was born in 1859 to Irish immigrants and overcame anti-Irish sentiments and gender barriers to become a trailblazing Bourbon entrepreneur. The first woman to run a major distillery in 1903, Dowling audaciously moved production to Mexico during Prohibition. A pillar of her Lawrenceburg, Ky. community and clearly ahead of her time, Dowling built churches, championed immigrant, black and women’s rights and opened a free hospital before her death in 1930.
- Larry Ebersold, 75, Louisville, Ky. Ebersold’s decades-long career, blending corporate experience at Seagram’s with entrepreneurial consulting, has left an indelible mark on the modern Bourbon and rye whiskey industry. A key architect of the craft distillery boom, Ebersold’s expertise has shaped facilities for 31 distilleries, including New Riff, Rabbit Hole and Bardstown Bourbon, collaborating with architects and engineers to design innovative production spaces.
- Chris Morris, 67, Louisville, Ky. A 50-year veteran of the Kentucky Bourbon industry, Morris’ craftsmanship and integrity is hailed around the world for elevating Brown-Forman’s whiskey portfolio and crafting innovative brands such as Woodford Reserve Double Oak and its vaunted Master’s Collection. Morris also is one of the industry’s most respected historians, a three-time Chairman of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association Board of Directors, and a cherished mentor to his successor Elizabeth McCall, all of which has solidified his lasting, lifelong impact on Kentucky Bourbon.
- Damon Thayer, 57, Georgetown, Ky. One of the strongest champions of Kentucky Bourbon in the history of the Kentucky General Assembly, retired Senate Majority Leader Thayer is directly responsible for stewarding more than 20 pieces of legislation that modernized Kentucky’s signature industry, propelled its amber nectar into an unprecedented golden age and transformed distilling into an economic and tourism powerhouse for the Commonwealth.
Source: Kentucky Distillers’ Association
