Ralph Dupps

Ralph Louis Dupps was born on October 15, 1917, in Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated from Louisville’s Male High School and went on to serve as a pilot during World War II. After the war, he earned an engineering degree from the Speed Scientific School at the University of Louisville and became a mechanical engineer.

Dupps began his career in the distilling industry working on boilers for the Schenley Corporation, which was one of the largest liquor companies in the country at the time. He eventually rose to manage the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville.

Meanwhile, the original Cascade Hollow Distillery in Tennessee had a rich history of its own. Operated successfully by Augusta Dickel and her family, it was the largest distillery in the state by 1904. But Tennessee’s early adoption of Prohibition in 1909 forced its closure, and production of the Cascade Hollow brand was later moved to Kentucky.

Schenley’s founder, Lew Rosenstiel, had tried unsuccessfully to purchase the Jack Daniel’s brand from the Motlow family. After Brown-Forman acquired it instead, Rosenstiel—who already owned the rights to the Cascade Hollow brand—decided to return production to Tennessee by building a new distillery for George Dickel Tennessee Whisky.

Rosenstiel turned to Ralph Dupps to lead the project. Familiar with the brand, Dupps relocated his family to Tennessee and began laying the groundwork for the new facility. He secured 850 acres of land in Coffee County, near the site of the original distillery. The location had access to the same iron-free, mineral-rich water source that flowed through layers of limestone—ideal for producing quality whiskey.

Before construction could begin, Dupps had to win local approval. At the time, Coffee County was a "dry" county. Dupps recalled, “It was close, very close, but the referendum passed.”

Once the legal hurdles were cleared, Dupps dove into research to ensure the whiskey honored its roots. He managed to obtain George Dickel’s original manuscripts, which included the original recipe and process. His first attempt at charcoal filtering using kiln-produced charcoal resulted in a harsh taste. Instead, he adopted Dickel’s traditional method of using sugar maple wood, which was burned to create charcoal. The whiskey was then filtered through this charcoal for up to 10 days before aging—a costly but essential step that gave the spirit its signature smoothness.

“If you didn’t have that added process, you’d have bourbon,” Dupps once said. He believed deeply in the product, adding, “I think I could take any person—I don’t care whether they drink bourbon or rum—and get them to drink nothing else but George Dickel for three weeks, and they would never leave this.”

The first batch of whiskey from the new Cascade Hollow Distillery was distilled in July 1959 and aged for six years before its 1964 release. Dupps became the Master Distiller, though he was modest about the title. “They call me that?” he said. “I guess it’s true to a certain extent.”

During his tenure, Dupps introduced the George Dickel No. 8 and No. 12 labels, helping to elevate the brand’s reputation. Thanks to his attention to detail and dedication to quality, George Dickel Tennessee Whiskey has endured as a respected brand for more than 130 years.

Outside the distillery, Dupps had an accomplished life. He served as president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and was a former director of St. Joseph's Hospital in Louisville. He was a member of Second Presbyterian Church, the Pendennis Club (where the Old Fashioned cocktail is said to have originated), Owl Creek Country Club, and the University of Louisville “L” Club.

Ralph Dupps was first married to Rosemary Holland Dupps, who passed away in 1977—the same year he retired as President of the George Dickel Distilling Company. He later married Martha Hayes Dupps, with whom he shared 29 years of marriage until his death on December 1, 2007, at the age of 90.

Ralph Dupps is buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville. He was the father of two sons, Ralph L. Dupps Jr. and Kirk Dupps, and a daughter, Ann Dupps Kegley.

Contributed by Daniel Snyder, Champaign, Illinois