A Central New Yorker distiller is the winner of a Discovery Channel competition.
Chris Uyehara, co-owner of Last Shot Distillery in Skaneateles, won “Moonshiners: Master Distiller” Wednesday night. Uyehara, who was raised in Hawaii and has Japanese ancestry, beat out two other finalists to be named “master distiller” on “Whiskeys of the World” with his Japanese-style whiskey; the others were American style and a Scotch.
Uyehara told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that his entry uses four types of malted grain, including malted barley.
“It has a little of the character of malt candy, like Whoppers,” he said.
Curious drinkers can find Uyehara’s Four Grain Japanese-style malted whiskey at the distillery tasting room and shop, 4022 Mill Road just outside the village. His initial batch was 280 bottles, and he has about that same amount aging in new oak barrels for the next bottling.
Uyehara opened Last Shot with partner John Menapace and Menapace’s daughter Kate in 2015. It’s in the same building as the Skaneateles Brewery.
Last Shot is a small-batch spirit maker, with products like Bourbon, Gin, Vodka and two clear whiskeys, Moonshine and Lightning. Its Distillers Reserve Skaneateles Whiskey is similar to rye, but is made with a locally grown grain called triticale. It also makes two creamy liqueurs, a Chocolate Creme Brulee made with bourbon and Orange Cream Lightning, made with the Lightning whiskey.
Uyehara is a culinary instructor at Syracuse University’s Falk College, and has worked as a chef and pastry chef at several local restaurants and bakeries, including Patisserie and Rosalie’s Cucina in Skaneateles, and at the Savannah Dhu lodge, where he specialized in cooking wild game. He is also a world-renowned ice carver.
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