Our Story
From a family of rule breakers running moonshine to an Unapologetic American Whiskey
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
The idea of a distillery was conceived as far back as 1975 when Tim Mueller, then 14 years old, found an early 1930s photograph of his grandpa, uncle, and great grandpa running a moonshine still on their farm in Tangent, Oregon. Intrigued by the photo, Tim enlisted his older cousin, who had learned the family secret from his dad, to help him build his first still and show him the ropes of making moonshine. Tim made a few runs just for fun then put the still away. Actually, he hid it in his mom’s barn…
While in the Army, stationed in Germany, Tim again dabbled in making a little moonshine for some of his Army buddies. Unfortunately, his little still was confiscated by his platoon sergeant which ended Specialist Mueller's European moonshining days for good.
Fast forward 31 years; Tim had retired from a career with the Linn County Sheriff's Office and decided he needed another venture, and of course he landed on making whiskey, only this time legally, and with much larger and professional equipment. In October 2014, Tim founded Hideaway Distillery LLC in Lebanon, Oregon. The distillery is housed in a building constructed in 1930 that was originally the Linn County Tractor Company that sold Massey Ferguson tractors and implements. We're proud to give this historic building new life as a distillery with a mission to give back.
Hideaway Distillery is owned and operated by Tim and his two business partners, retired Linn County Sheriff’s Sergeant Dave Lawler, and (currently on active duty) Linn County Sheriff’s Deputy Andy Borland; who all worked together at the Sheriff’s Office.
