“This is my retirement,” he says. “I’ve run businesses in the past, but I’m no young chicken. This is my last shot for an endeavor.” The distillery, located on 4022 Mill Road, has a setting deeply rooted in American history. “Not only are we sharing whiskey, we’re sharing the history,” says Uyehara. “We want to educate, but also be a cool place to hang.” Last Shot reclaims a space that used to be a distillery before the impact of the Temperance Movement shut it down. The original distillery was then turned into a grist mill, which soon burned to the ground, and the remnants became the foundation of Last Shot. Uyehara hopes to resurrect the essence of the once run-down distillery that never got its chance at spirit glory. The first distillery in Skaneateles since Prohibition, Last Shot honors its location by using ingredients and products from the area. Its water, for example, is sourced from Skaneateles Lake, one of the cleanest lakes in the country. At the distillery, patrons will have the opportunity to test their tongues with different flavors of bourbon, vodka, and whiskey. Topping the list are flavors like Hashtag Hundred, onehundred percent corn whiskey, and White Lightning, a clear white whiskey named after a famous Skaneateles sailboat. In addition to its spirits, Last Shot will serve a selection of cured meats to be experienced in its nearby tasting room. Though on the path to becoming a Skaneateles staple in its own right, the distillery didn’t come without 20 | bakedmagazine.com
some textbook education and dicey gambles on Uyehara’s part. As with any business owner, he was faced with some game-changing decisions. “Before you do this process, you have to get the location. Every place I went to had a road block,” says Uyehara. After unsuccessfully seeking money from the bank, he thought of using the equity on his home for start-up funds. Almost ready to stick a “for sale” sign in the lawn, he saw a perfect opportunity when a family friend offered to join a partnership to acquire property for rent and give the distillery a home. Uyehara’s location decision proved to be as golden as Last Shot’s maple whiskey. “It’s trial and error in the beginning,” he says. “But I think it’s going to work out nice.” A man determined to make his final endeavor a successful reality, Uyehara shows us the rewards of calling even the last shot.
