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Eight New Members of Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame Announced
Eight people will join the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame this September, including Dr. Jerry Dalton, the subject of an online video titled “Get Jerry Dalton in the Hall of Fame.” The honorees also include a women’s rights activist who successfully fought a Kentucky state law banning women from bars, former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, and the father-and-son team who created Jefferson’s Bourbon.
This year’s inductees in alphabetical order:
Dr. Jerry Dalton spent 22 years in the Bourbon industry, and finished his career as Jim Beam’s master distiller succeeding Booker Noe before retiring early to take care of his wife.
Dixie Sherman Demuth owned Dixie’s Elbow Room in the 1950’s, and persuaded the Kentucky Supreme Court to overturn a 200-year-old state law banning women from working or drinking in public bars.
Greg Fischer is the former three-term mayor of Louisville, and worked tirelessly to promote Bourbon-related tourism in the city.
Pete Kamer spent 45 years in the industry before retiring and creating Distillery Engineering, a consulting firm that has helped numerous craft distillers get off the ground.
Joe Magliocco is the president and CEO of Michter’s Distillery, and helped lead the Whiskey Row renaissance in downtown Louisville with the development of the Michter’s micro-distillery and visitors center on Main Street.
Dean Watts is the former judge-executive of Nelson County, home to Bardstown and its growing number of distilleries.
Chet Zoeller is an author, historian, and co-founder of Jefferson’s Bourbon. After years of research, he wrote the book Bourbon in Kentucky, a comprehensive history of nearly 1,000 distillers and brands in the state’s history.
Trey Zoeller is Chet’s son, and co-founded Jefferson’s Bourbon with his father in 1997.
The induction ceremony will be held in September in conjunction with the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. Honorees are nominated by Kentucky Distillers Association member companies and the Bourbon Festival board, then reviewed by the KDA Board of Directors and a blue-ribbon panel of Hall of Fame members.
Links: Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame
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