Bourbon Balls were invented by Ruth Booe of Rebecca Ruth Candy Company. Ruth invented the confection in Frankfort Kentucky after a dignitary at Frankfort's sesquicentennial in 1936 commented that the two best tastes in the world were Kentucky Bourbon and Miss Booe's candy. They were being served Ruth's Mint Kentucky Colonel confection at the time of the comment. The recipe for the original Bourbon Ball is still a secret and can be ordered from the company that was founded in 1919. The basic ingredients include dark chocolate, Kentucky bourbon, and sugar. The center is considered to be a "creme" from a confectionery identification as opposed to a liquid or truffle center. A historical marker placed by the Kentucky Historical Society commemorating the invention of Bourbon Balls is located in front of the store at 112 East Second Street.

Home versions of Bourbon Balls are also very popular. Nearly everyone in Kentucky and many throughout the South have variations of these that are made in the home.
Above posted by Charles Booe - grandson of Ruth Booe.

A Bourbon ball is the name for two different forms of bite-size confections

Confectionery

Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...

 incorporating bourbon

Bourbon whiskey

Bourbon is a type of American whiskey – a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name of the spirit derives from its historical association with an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky . It has been produced since the 18th century...

 as a key ingredient.

The most common variation for home cooks is regional to the southern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and incorporates crushed cookie

Cookie

In the United States and Canada, a cookie is a small, flat, baked treat, usually containing fat, flour, eggs and sugar. In most English-speaking countries outside North America, the most common word for this is biscuit; in many regions both terms are used, while in others the two words have...

s, corn syrup

Corn syrup

Corn syrup is a food syrup, which is made from the starch of maize and contains varying amounts of maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soften texture, add volume, prevent crystallization of sugar, and enhance flavor...

, chopped pecan

Pecan

The pecan , Carya illinoinensis, is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana east to western Kentucky, southwestern Ohio, North Carolina, South...

s, and bourbon into a mixture that is formed into balls and coated in powdered sugar to prevent the evaporation of the alcohol. Once molded they are aged for up to a week, in a sealed container in a cool dark place, before serving . They will keep for up to a month before becoming too friable to pick up in one piece as the evaporation process desiccate

Desiccation

Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container.-Science:...

s the packed structure of the cookie.

Another variation has a similar filling, but with a chocolate exterior. The filling can also be similar to a truffle

Chocolate truffle

A chocolate truffle is a type of chocolate confectionery, traditionally made with a chocolate ganache center coated in chocolate or cocoa powder, usually in a spherical, conical, or curved shape...

 or a cherry cordial

Cordial (candy)

A cordial is a type of confection in which a fruit filling is placed within a chocolate shell. A well known confectionery of this type is the cherry cordial.-Process:...

, with bourbon added, of course.

Using other types of alcohol one can make rum

Rum

Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...

 balls, flavored vodka

Vodka

Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....

 balls or liqueur

Liqueur

A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...

balls.