Eric Goodman Presents His Newest Book, "Mother of Bourbon: The Greatest American Whiskey Story Never Told"
Our speaker for May 1, 2025, was Eric Goodman, a former educator and author of seven previous novels. Eric was educated at Stanford and Yale and directed the creative writing program at Miami University for many years. He is also the author of “Curveball,” published in 2024. Eric’s topic was the story behind his latest book, “Mother of Bourbon: The Greatest American Whiskey Story Never Told.”
Mother of Bourbon is the story of Mary Dowling, the daughter of impoverished Irish immigrants, who became one of the most important forces driving the development of Bourbon whiskey. Bourbon is an exclusively American drink and 95% of it is made in Kentucky. Mary married another Irish immigrant, John Dowling, in 1874, when she was only 15 and John was in his early 30’s. John worked in various jobs, including making whiskey barrels. He and Mary started investing in distilleries and eventually became sole proprietors of Waterfill and Frazier in Tyrone, Kentucky. By the turn of the century, the family owned one of the largest distilleries in Kentucky. However, when John had a major stroke, and later died, Mary was unable to secure financing, since the banks did not want to lend to women who, they thought, had no business experience. Mary was also the victim of the rampant anti-Irish and anti-Catholic discrimination during those years. And, when Prohibition came into effect, her business, which had continued to prosper despite the adversity, was nearly destroyed.
The book also tells the story of the bootlegging charges made against her and the consequent trial, appeals to the Supreme Court, and of the disastrous confiscation of 5,000 bottles of her whiskey by the authorities. One of Mary’s solutions to these problems, including the prohibition problem, was opening up a distillery in Juarez, Mexico, just across the border from El Paso, Texas. Mary Dowling was a pioneer, visionary, courageous, and determined woman who prevailed against a system that was designed to suppress people like her.
Thank you, Eric, for the fascinating introduction into the world of Kentucky Bourbon whiskey and the enterprising and determined woman who was one of its prime movers.
