By RUSS BROWN • Photograhy by Matt Johnson
Twelve years ago in the early days of Rabbit Hole bourbon -- which has since become a well-known and popular brand -- Kaveh Zamanian, Founder of Rabbit Hole and Mary Dowling Whiskey Companies, discovered an article about Mary Dowling, setting in motion a series of events that have led to a new brand for the Louisville distillery.
Zamanian, who is also Chief Whiskey Officer of North American Distillers (NADL) Pernod Ricard, said the impetus for the Dowling brand came almost by accident, stemming from a painting of Mary by Gary Simmons called “Spirit Runner” that is displayed in the distillery. The piece had been commissioned as part of a project by Kaveh to celebrate the forgotten legends of the spirit industry.
“By sheer conincidence, nearly three years ago, a gentleman who owned the trademark for Waterfill & Frazier and Dowling Brothers walked into our distillery and noticed Mary’s name on the painting, Kaveh explained. “Making a long story short, he agreed to allow me to take on the brands. I had found an article about Mary. There wasn’t much and what there was was mostly incorrect. But I was intrigued enough to keep searching, and in time discovered that she was truly a remarkable person whose story was lost in the annals of history.
“While Dowling Bros. and Waterfill & Frazier have brand recognition and brand equity, I felt it was time to launch a brand in honor of Mary herself, placing her name where it belongs. Through the brand we can tell her story to the world and restore her lost legacy.”
Dowling (1859-1930), who has been dubbed “Whiskey Woman” and “Mother of Bourbon,” indeed has an interesting and fascinating story to tell. As Zamanian learned in his research, she was a trailblazing distiller who worked in the male-dominated world of pre-prohibition bourbon in Kentucky. She was a determined visionary, a pioneer, a true maverick and an American legend who should be celebrated. She was a distiller, bootlegger, wife, mother of eight children, business owner, civic leader and philanthropist.
Dowling’s accomplishments and adventures are worthy of a book, but here is a Cliff Notes version on her history, with a nod to Kevin Gibson’s story that is featured on the website of notable bourbon expert Fred Minnick.
Born Mary Murphy to Irish immigrants in 1858 in Kentucky, she married at 17 to John Dowling, who was 20 years older. He was a partner in the Watterfill & Frazier whiskey brand and later became sole owner, with Mary ultimately becoming a partner.
When John died, Mary not only had to care for her large family, but also run the whiskey business. Gibson noted that her path led her to essentially snub her nose at the federal government over prohibition while asserting herself as a civic leader in Lawrenceburg, Ky.
She also bought a farm, other business and was known for her charitable causes.
Mary’s most notorious episode came in 1924 when federal agents confiscated approximately 5,700 quarts of whiskey from her basement. She and three of her sons were charged with violation of the Dry Laws, which prompted a legal battle. The Dowlings were convicted and Mary appealed.
Then fate intervened. The U.S. Sixth Court of appeals learned that the stenographer who had taken the record of the earlier trial had died and no one could read his notes. That was enough for the Court to throw out the conviction.
In the meantime, she had hired Joseph Beam of the infamous Beam family, disassembled her distillery and moved it to Juarez, Mexico, where she could continue to distill whiskey legally. It made its way back into the States still labored as “bourbon.” Mary is part of the reason why U.S.-based distillers fought for labeling laws and strict limitations on what could be called “bourbon.”
Ironically, Mary died Feb. 18, 1930, just a few weeks before Prohibition was repealed. But her legacy lives on in the new bourbon brand. At a kickoff event in Lawrenceburg, Zamanian and great-grandchildren of Dowling paid tribute to her legacy. Great granddaughter Cathy Brown said, “she taught us that gender and talent know no bounds.”
“I was really taken by her story, and releasing a bourbon bearing her name is intended to give her the top billing she deserves,” Zamanian said. “History indeed contains many people -- half of them women.”
Zamanian was set on the path to his true calling when he fell in love with and married Heather, a native of Kentucky, while both were living in Chicago. She encouraged him in the new business undertaking and he says, “Heather has been my steadfast partner through all my endeavors, supporting me in every possible way.”
With her inspiration it was then that his passion for bourbon took hold, leading him to ultimately step away from a successful career as a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst to move to the Bluegrass State and found his own spirits company, Rabbit Hole. He said he wanted to start something new and personal -- modern whiskeys that challenge the status quo and offer a new vision of what an authentic whiskey can be.
He produced his own recipes, marrying heritage techniques with innovative, exclusive mash bills to create a portfolio of one-of-a-kind expressions of super premium American whiskey.
Mary Dowling Whiskey Co. has three products. The initial rollout last year featured a high-rye bourbon finished in tequila barrels and a double-oaked wheated bourbon bottled at cask strength with a proof of 110 that Zamanian describes as “an exquisitely refined pour that matches (Mary’s) elegance and class.” Since then, the distillery has added a wheated bourbon. The brand has been greeted with an impressive reception, drawing excellent reviews while earning several accolades. They include a Double Gold at the San Francisco Spirit competiton, Platinum from Ascot Awards and 93 points from Whiskey Advocate.
“Celebrating her pioneering spirit, we offer a range of exquisite whiskies, each crafted with meticulous care and dedication,” Zamanian said. “Our Double Barrel Whiskey delivers a rich, layered complexity through an innovative aging process. The Tequila Barrel Whiskey introduces an adventurous twist, merging the boldness of whiskey with the vibrant notes of tequila. For those seeking a smooth and mellow experience, our Winter Wheat Whiskey offers a soft, elegant finish.”
Thus, Zamanian says, “We are restoring Mary Dowling and the whiskey that bears her name, to its rightful place in America’s hearts, minds and glasses.”
Restoring the lost legacy of a Visionary Maverick
Mary Dowling was a trailblazing woman distiller in the male-dominated world of pre-Prohibition bourbon, yet her name remains largely unknown. During Prohibition, she was the sole distillery owner to move production to Mexico, evading the constraints of the Dry Laws. Long hidden in the shadows of history, here is Mary’s remarkable story.
1859-1874 Becoming Mary Dowling
Mary Ann Murphy, the eldest of ten children born to Irish Catholic immigrants John and Mary Murphy, started her life in Bourbon County but grew up in Lexington. In 1874, she married John Dowling, an Irish immigrant. The Dowlings settled in Lawrenceburg, Anderson County, just west of the Kentucky River, where John had established himself as a cooper and distiller. The couple was well-matched: determined, entrepreneurial, fiercely intelligent, and committed to excellence. Together, they were destined for great success.
1880-1900
John quickly recognized Mary’s business acumen, and their marriage blossomed into a true partnership. By the mid-1880s, they owned three distilleries, including Waterfill and Frazier. They had six children, and Mary would give birth three more times, with their youngest son, Emmett, born in 1898 when she was 39. Eight of the Dowling children lived to adulthood.
In 1886, John and Mary moved into Dowling Hall, a 10,000-square-foot mansion on South Main Street in Lawrenceburg, which still stands today as a testament to the Dowlings’ determination and vision. From impoverished beginnings, John and Mary Dowling had truly arrived.
1903-1919 Mary Dowling On Her Own
Tragically, John passed away in 1903 after a brief illness. As a mother of eight, Mary stepped in to lead the Dowling empire, becoming the only woman to run a major distillery in the male-dominated Kentucky bourbon industry, but her impact was also felt far beyond whiskey.
When the Waterfill and Frazier distillery burned down in 1904, Mary swiftly rebuilt it, improved distribution channels, and expanded production. When her line of credit was cut off due to perceptions of a woman-run business being a “credit risk,” she helped re-charter a bank, although she was denied a seat on the board.
Mary, the wealthiest woman in Lawrenceburg, was also a civic leader who championed progressive causes. As president of the local women’s club, she played a crucial role in bringing healthcare services to the rural poor of Lawrenceburg. During World War I, she led Liberty Bond sales with distinction and was renowned for her charity, quiet elegance, and the exceptional quality of Waterfill and Frazier bourbon.
Her formal portrait, taken by a renowned New York photographer, displayed a determined “Don’t Mess with Me” look—an attitude she would need to navigate the challenges of Prohibition.
Was Mary Dowling a bootlegger?
Perhaps. She certainly believed Prohibition, which devastated the once-prosperous Anderson County, was a terrible idea. While it’s romantic to imagine Mary Dowling, 64 years old and the richest woman in town, driving her Packard over the Kentucky hills to evade Revenuers, the more likely explanation is that her youngest son Emmett, a recent Harvard graduate, sold small quantities of Waterfill and Frazier from the basement of Dowling Hall.
1920-1926 Fighting Prohibition
When the Volstead Act took effect in 1920, every distillery in Kentucky shut down except for six licensed to sell “medicinal” bourbon. Unfortunately, Mary’s distilleries were not among them.
In March 1923, a government sting operation, assisted by a known bootlegger, targeted Dowling Hall. Mary and four of her adult children were charged with violating the Dry Laws, igniting a fierce five-year legal battle.
During two highly publicized and scandalous trials, Mary spent a small fortune defending her family name, her outrage intensified by the fire in a government warehouse where 4,800 bottles of confiscated Waterfill and Frazier bourbon “mysteriously disappeared.” Rumors suggested that government agents sold the missing bourbon and set the fire to cover up their crime. Imagine that!
In March 1926, Mary and her children were convicted. Undeterred, Mary was determined to fight the verdict and find a way to profit from Prohibition. She appealed the conviction, buying time to execute an audacious plan.
1926-1930 Spitting In The Government’s Eye, Ciudad Juarez, And The D & W Distillery
In 1926, Mary not only appealed her conviction but also hired Joe L. Beam—yes, from that Beam family—and his two sons to dismantle her Waterfill & Frazier distillery and relocate it to Ciudad Juarez, just across the border from El Paso. Today, Joe L. Beam’s descendants remain publicly grateful to Mary Dowling for helping their family survive Prohibition. Over the next three years, Mary and her son Emmett frequently traveled to Juarez to meet with her Mexican partner, Antonio Bermudez, a lifelong friend who later became managing director of PEMEX, the Mexican national oil company.
By 1927, their joint venture, D & W Distillery, was legally producing large quantities of Waterfill and Frazier, much of which was smuggled into the whiskey-starved US—but not by Mary or her family. Pappy van Winkle, who legally sold small amounts of Mary’s American-made Waterfill and Frazier as “medicinal bourbon,” complained that her Mexican bourbon was cutting into his profits.
In 1928, after securing her family’s financial future by defying the government, Mary’s legal battle ended when the US Supreme Court declined to hear her case. To keep their mother out of prison, her sons John and Emmett were sentenced to a year and a day in the Atlanta penitentiary, serving six months. Mary was ordered to pay a hefty fine of $10,000, while her daughters received only a slap on the wrist.
1930-PRESENT DAY Mary Dowling’s Legacy
Mary Dowling passed away in February 1930 at a Catholic hospital in Louisville at the age of 71, three years before the end of Prohibition. The D & W Distillery continued producing bourbon in Juarez until 1964 when Congress passed a law mandating that “bourbon” had to be produced in the US, effectively making Mary Dowling the mother of bourbon as we know it today.
To honor the courage of this American original—a woman ahead of her time and a bold, visionary thinker—we present two Mary Dowling whiskies commemorating the 100th anniversary of her remarkable defiance and ultimate triumph over the Dry Laws.
Mary Dowling Tequila Barrel is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in tequila casks, paying tribute to Mary’s D & W Distillery in Juarez, where local lore says the margarita was invented. Mary Dowling Double Oak Barrel is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey offered at double oak cask strength. Both whiskies are boldly original and embody the indomitable spirit of Mary Dowling.
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Mary Dowling, a true Bearcat of the bourbon industry.
March 3, 2023 Taken from “Those Pre-Pro Whiskey Men!” by Jack Sullivan
Having for several years tried to find a female who played an important role as a “whiskey man” in America, I have at last come across an extraordinary woman. She is Mary Dowling of Anderson County, Kentucky. Not only did she own and run a major distillery, shown above, she found a way to stay in the liquor business after 1920 and, in effect, thumbed her nose at National Prohibition.
She was born Mary Murphy in 1858 in the State of Kentucky, the daughter of Irish immigrants. Little of her girlhood or education is recorded until she reached the age of 17 when in 1875 she married a man at least 17 years her senior. His name was John Dowling. They would have nine children of whom eight would live to maturity.
Born in Ireland in 1841, John Dowling had come to the United States with a brother, Edward, and was already established in the Kentucky whiskey trade at the time of their marriage. He was a partner in a distillery in Anderson County, located on Bailey’s Run about four miles south of Lawrenceburg Courthouse. The facility had been built in 1810 and after several owners the facility had come into the hands of J. M. Waterfill and G.G Frazier during the Civil War. They produced a brand of whiskey they called “Waterfill & Frazier.”
During the early 1880s Dowling joined the original partners and the firm became Waterfill, Dowling & Company. At the time the distillery was mashing 60 bushels a day and had a storage capacity for about 3,000 barrels for aging the whiskey. Over the next few years the facilities were greatly expanded. By 1890 mashing capacity had been increased to 125 bushels and warehouse capacity exceeded 9,000 barrels. Insurance records from 1892 noted that the entire distillery was ironclad with metal or slate roofs, including four bonded warehouses and one “free” (from Federal regulation) warehouse. Slops from the fermentation process were being used to feed hogs that were housed in pens near the still house.
By 1890 the Anderson County distillery was mashing 250 bushels per day and had a warehouse capacity for 21,000 barrels. Over the years John Dowling increased his ownership of the facility and in early in the 1900s became the full owner, with his brother Edward assisting him. They kept the “Waterfill & Frazier” name for their flagship brand and also did business as the Pilgrimage Distilling Co., with offices in Cincinnati. About the same time, apparently recognizing the business acumen of his wife, John brought Mary into the company. Not long after, he died at age 61. His grieving widow inherited the firm and its management, becoming one of a handful of women in that era to run a major distillery.
During ensuing years, Mary Dowling became part of Kentucky whiskey lore in her evident ability to control a major operation. Even a major fire in 1904 that destroyed the distillery did not deter her and the facility was quickly rebuilt. When Mary’s sons came to maturity, they too were brought into the business. As her reputation as a businesswoman rose in Anderson County, she followed other economic opportunities. She became a founding stockholder of the Anderson National Bank in 1907, capitalized at $100,000. Mary was not, however, given a seat on the bank board.
Mary’s success of almost two decades, however, came to screeching halt with the imposition of National Prohibition. Federal records shown her withdrawing large quantities of whiskey from her bonded warehouse in the run up to the ban on alcohol. Some of this whiskey she is reported to have sold to those Kentucky distillers fortunate enough to be licensed to sell liquor for “medicinal purposes.” Other stocks, it would appear, she was bootlegging. It was during this period, I assume, that she earned the reputation for being “mysterious” and caused at least one writer to term her “infamous.”
Her illegal business worked for about four years until 1924 when revenue agents set a trap for the Dowlings, who were operating both out of their home and from an office next to two distillery warehouses, supposedly sealed, in which large quantities of liquor were stored. Federal agents arrived with two “turncoat” bootleggers in their automobiles, men who had done business with Mary in the past. The agents watched as the bootleggers entered the house and bought out two sacks of whiskey, each containing a dozen bottles. They watched as the sacks were placed in one of the autos, then searched and seized them, as their stool -pigeons reputedly ‘fessed up. The “sting” had worked. The agents thereupon entered the Dowling home with search warrants.
In the basement they found and sized 478 sacks, each holding 12 quarts of whiskey, exactly like the ones deposited in the bootlegger’s car. They seized the liquor and arrested members of the Dowling family, including three of Mary’s sons. This was in spite of her contention, as a court record later narrated, that the whiskey had been there before Prohibition and was “to be for the use of family and guests, whom she entertained on a large scale.”
The Dowlings were prosecuted for a conspiracy to possess, transport, and sell intoxicating liquors in violation of the National Prohibition Act. There ensued three years of court cases both in Kentucky and Federal courts as the Dowlings through their attorneys contended that the search warrant was flawed, that criminal charges should be dropped, and the seized liquor returned. An initial trial was adjourned when Mary Dowling became sick. The indictment was renewed by the government in 1925 and this time the Dowlings were convicted. Then fate intervened. Upon the Dowlings’ appeal of the conviction to the U.S. Sixth Court of Appeals, it was found that the stenographer who had taken the record of the earlier trial had died and no one could read his notes. That was enough for the Circuit Court and they threw out the convictions.
By this time Mary Dowling had hatched a new — and more successful — business plan. About 1926 she hired Joseph Beam, one of Kentucky’s premier distillers but now out of work, to dismantle the Waterfill & Frazier distillery, transport the pieces to Juarez, Mexico, reassemble it there, and resume making whiskey. Mexico had no prohibition so the liquor production was completely legal. Beam was all too glad to oblige. With two of his seven sons, Otis and Harry, he decamped South of the Border and built the facility shown here on a postcard. They called it the “Dowling Mexican” (D.M.) Distillery. Beam stayed several years on the job and a relative said his son Harry “essentially grew up in Mexico.”
The primary market for this Waterfill & Frazier whiskey was in Mexico and Central and South America. Compared to the local whiskeys, Mary Dowling’s “bourbon,” (actually a blend) was a quality product and highly successful. As a result a number of artifacts bearing Spanish language and theme, particularly trip trays, can be found on auction sites.
Because Juarez, in the state of Chihuahua is so close to the U.S. border, thirsty American tourists also could enjoy it and even, as an ad hinted, bring a bottle or two with them back to the U.S. There also is evidence that Mary Dowling had found other ways to get her whiskey to the American consumer. A letter exists toher from Julian Van Winkle, one of those lucky distillers with a “medicinal” license. He complained that his sales reps were having trouble selling her Kentucky-made Waterfill & Frazier Bourbon because of competition from other quarters selling her Mexican product. Van Winkle did not even hint at how Mexican bourbon might have made it onto the legal market in the United States. He knew Mary already knew.
In 1930, four years short of Repeal, Mary Dowling died and was laid to rest in Section 5 of the Lawrenceburg Cemetery in Anderson County. In the grave next to her is John Dowling whom she outlived by 27 years. As shown here, the remaining buildings of the Anderson County distillery were allowed to decay as the forest grew up around them. After the end of Prohibition in 1934, one of Mary’s sons, also named John, built a new distillery at Fisherville, just outside Louisville at Echo Trail at Ford’s Fork. Sometime later he sold the property to a Kentuckian who closed the facility but kept the Waterfill & Frazier brand name and label design, transferring both to Bardstown where he had another distillery. Thus some U.S. bottles and artifacts designated “Waterfill & Frazier” are post-Prohibition.
Although she died before witnessing Repeal, Mary Dowling had forged a path for women — and men — in whiskey history that may never be surpassed. Unlike most of the male Kentucky distillers who quietly shut down, Mary actively rebelled against the “Dry Laws” and after one attempt to circumvent them proved to be problematic, created a second strategy that succeeded beyond all expectations. Call her “mysterious” or “infamous,” as some have done, I call her a genius for having thumbed her nose at National Prohibition and beaten it.
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