Last Chance Distilling
Amanda Burgar, an important woman in Twisp's history, once owned the land where Last Chance Distilling is now located. The nearby Burgar Street is a reminder of her impact.
Present day location of Last Chance Distilling is highlighted in yellow. This property sits in a bend where the Twisp River converges with the Methow River.
This 1895 map lists "C.C. Berger" as the property owner. Courtland C. Burgar was the husband of Amanda Burgar.
Amanda Burgar pictured in back
AMANDA BURGAR
Amanda (Duncan) Burgar was born in March, 1884, in Butler Township, Ohio. After marrying Courtland C. Burgar and giving birth to two children, Amanda and her son, William, moved from Wisconsin to the town of Silver, Washington. It is unclear what happened to Courtland, but it appears he died in Wisconsin or en route to Washington. While living in Washington, Amanda moved from Silver to a 160 acre homestead near the already-platted town of Gloversville that included the land where Last Chance Distilling is now located. Amanda platted the town of Twisp in 1899, which eventually merged with nearby Gloversville to become the Town of Twisp that exists today. Amanda died in October 1905, but Burgar Street in Twisp still bears her name.
Amanda Burgar started the Twisp hotel in 1900, but the building was short-lived. The hotel burned down a year later.
Amanda Burgar's plat map from 1899
PROHIBITION IN THE METHOW VALLEY
Prohibition banned the sale, production and transportation of alcohol from 1920 to 1933 in America. Last Chance Distilling wouldn't have been able to exist during that time, but there were certainly less official operations going on in the Methow Valley. Two prominent names for illegal activities were Alva Sharp and Bessie Hardy. During community dances at Rockview Dance Hall Bessie would park her car a little ways up the road from the dance hall. Patrons could pay her a visit to get her homemade beer that she kept on ice in her trunk. Alva made moonshine that he sold in pint-sized flasks. Sometimes he would bury these in the snow bank and mark the spot with a stick. Folks could dig out their flask when they were ready for a drink.
Bessie Hardy standing with Alva Sharp
"One of the good memories... the dances we had at the Rockview Hall. Everyone went...big and little. There were benches upstairs in a balcony where the little ones were put to sleep and always a good lunch at midnight. My mother and dad were young and always went to the dance where young and old had fun."
-Wilma Carrell
Charlie pictured here, well after his moonshining days
CHARLIE BARCELOU
Charlie was one of the valley's main characters - a moonshiner and later a café and tavern owner. He arrived in 1920. During Prohibition, he made illegal liquor and sold it at community dances. He died at 102.
Charlie could be seen going to town every evening when there was a dance with a couple jugs of moonshine tucked under a load of firewood. He would stop off at the Huelet brothers' house to deliver the moonshine. The brothers diluted it with 50% water and then sold it to the heavy drinkers at the dance hall in Twisp.
Then Charlie would carry on with his route, delivering some firewood and stopping by the grocery store before heading back home for the night.
Okanogan County Sheriff, Bernard McCauley appears in many moonshiner stories. Often he is mentioned paying a visit or following tips about illegal caravans of liquor that came across the Canadian border. Seeing his car heading towards your house meant it was time to dispose of any evidence as quickly as possible. Carl Cleveland wrote about his experiences with Sheriff McCauley in his book Scraps from a Hellbox:
Mac was one of the rarities of prohibition days, a completely honest sheriff. He couldn’t be bribed or threatened. One day, looking over a recent haul in the storage vault, I saw a three gallon glass bottle of apricot brandy. “Gee, Mac, “ I said “That bottle would sure make a good base for a lamp.”
“You want it? Okay.” He took the bottle to the sink, poured out its aromatic contents and gave me the empty.
Some sheriffs are just too damn moral.
Sheriff McCauley, photo courtesy of Okanogan County Historical Society
"My younger brother, Don, traded a pistol for a small still and he and F.P. ran one batch off down in the Trainman swamp. They hired another young fellow to cook during the night. They thought he took more than his share of the moonshine. Later in the fall when the folks were living at the tract, my brothers set up a batch in the cellar across the river. They hauled the mash up to our vacant house on the hill to run off. While they were doing this, Sheriff Bernard McCauley stopped by and talked with them. He never looked for the still, but only wanted to scare them. They never ran the still again. I guess somebody had turned them in."
-Vernon LaMotte
The cat and mouse games between law enforcement and moonshiners finally drew to a close around 1933 when Prohibition ended. Today, Last Chance Distillery can openly offer what once was deemed illegal. Methow Valley residents are fortunate to have a boutique distillery right in Twisp, serving up high quality spirits.
Last Chance Distilling
309 N Methow Valley Hwy. Suite D
Twisp, WA 98856
509-749-7808