BIG SKY, Montana — Joshua Shamberger, aka Captain White Claw, decided to create his superhero alter ego after the Hungry Moose store in Big Sky emerged a few years ago as the leading seller of the popular hard seltzer.
“It was like the No. 1 seller of White Claw per capita in the universe. I thought that was funny, so I made the suit,” said Shamberger, who hesitated before providing his real name. “It’s like a Bruce Wayne thing.”
Dressed in a cape, neon yellow ski onesie and equipped with a Batman-style utility belt for holding several cans of White Claw, Shamberger wasn’t surprised to learn that Gallatin County — where he lives and works at the Hungry Moose — recently received the dubious distinction of being the drunkest county in America, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Shamberger apologized for arriving on the slopes at Big Sky Resort on Dec. 20 without his superhero shield.
“I forgot it back at base, but we had to get here early,” said Shamberger, who prefers blackberry White Claws to heavier on-slope beverages like beer or spiked hot chocolate.
Cowboy State Daily quizzed several Montanans about why Gallatin County, with nearly 27% of residents drinking to excess, beat out counties that are home to the biggest college towns in New England, the most scantily clad spring break destinations in Florida and every county in Wisconsin.
Theories varied, but like nearby Teton County, Wyoming, Gallatin County is a vacation destination for people who intentionally avoid Utah — home to the soberest counties. It’s a place with an ingrained drinking culture, but the overall population growth rate is slowing in Gallatin County, and that could cause it to relinquish the excessive drinking crown.
By The Numbers
The CDC defines heavy drinking as consuming eight or more drinks for women, or 15 or more drinks for men during a week.
According to CDC data, 26.8% of Gallatin County residents are heavy drinkers, compared to Utah, where just 9.04% of people booze too much.
Teton County comes in on the high end in Wyoming with 23.1% of the population identified as heavy drinkers, followed by Albany County, home to the University of Wyoming, at 22.3%.
That’s according to intoxistates.com, which organized the CDC data into a color-coded interactive map.
Hot on Gallatin County’s heels is Missoula County, with 25.5% of the population half in the bag. Gallatin is home to Montana State University, and Missoula is home to the University of Montana, which helps explain why these two are the state’s top two drunkest counties.
The Ski Town-Trout Town Multiplier
Back at the Hungry Moose on Monday morning, shift leader Andy Fortier said he started seeing beer and White Claw fly off the shelves as soon as the store opened.
Fortier, who prefers Coors Banquet Beer, said Gallatin County tops the nation for excessive drinking perhaps because it’s populated by locals and tourists who incorporate alcohol into their skiing and fishing lifestyles.
Just as kegs are a staple of off-campus parties, White Claws and Pabst Blue Ribbon tallboys are ever present in ski backpacks and drift boat coolers.
“The ski resort aspect kind of makes it like a college town for sure,” said Fortier. “Everyone just kind of uses that as their reason to get drunk every day. Everyone comes here to just kind of get away.”
At the Hungry Moose, where the main store is just down the road from the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club, there’s a wide spectrum of alcoholic offerings. Dirtbag skiers go for the $3.60 tallboys and a more refined crowd is targeted with the $1,700 bottles of Chateau Lafite Rothschild.
“I think we've sold maybe one or two in the past, but it's definitely one of the slower movers,” said Fortier.
Tips Up bar in Big Sky, Montana. (Jerad Poling via Google) 
Captain White Claw is doing his part to make Gallatin County, Montana, the drunkest in the nation. (David Madison, Cowboy State Daily) 
Amy Eisenzimer (formerly Parker) tapped into the need for hangover cures in Montana when she created Parker’s Hangover Tonic. (Courtesy Amy Eisenzimer)
Daddy’s Moonshine
When longtime Gallatin County resident Thomas McGuane Jr. started distilling his own spirits, he’d put the latest batch in a jug marked with three Xs and show up at neighborhood gatherings offering taste tests.
“That would be Daddy's Moonshine,” said McGuane, who went on to start Bozeman Spirits Distillery on Main Street.
He’s not surprised Gallatin County is home to heavy drinkers.
“I mean no wonder we're overrun. It's just about the greatest little place,” said McGuane, who attributes the high rate of consumption to the good vibes and high spirits that come with living in one of the most scenic counties in the country.
“It’s kind of a holiday fest here always and then we also have the added rough weather that makes the only appealing activity wandering downtown and blowing off some steam,” said McGuane. “It's celebrating the lifestyle we have here. Everybody's kind of in this celebratory mood all the time.”
Bozeman Distillery’s marketing materials make the most of this upbeat vibe with nostalgic pinup girl imagery on their labels.
The company website features a photo of the Gallatin River, and promotional copy declaring its spirits to be, “Inspired by Bozeman’s rugged charm and outdoor ethos, our spirits capture the essence of Montana’s untamed beauty and adventurous lifestyle.”
McGuane’s father is the author Thomas McGuane, who was drinking buddies with Jimmy Buffett before the breakout hit “Margaritaville” made him a superstar.
Then in 1981, the elder McGuane abruptly stopped drinking.
“As he likes to say, ‘It was time to put the plug in the jug,’” said McGuane Jr., quoting his father, whose writing is populated by characters under the influence.
Given the recent CDC findings about Gallatin County’s penchant for booze, McGuane’s 2006 short story collection titled “Gallatin Canyon” now seems prescient.
A book review in High Country News pointed out the heavy pour of alcoholic themes and “blackly humorous” one-liners, with one character telling another, “Shit-faced in a wheelchair is a look whose time will never come.”
The Morning After
Every drunk county needs a good homegrown hangover cure, and in Gallatin County, it’s Parker’s Hangover Tonic.
Amy Eisenzimer’s maiden name is Parker. She was inspired to create her concentrated Caesar and Bloody Mary Mix back when she was in college at Montana Western University in nearby Beaverhead County, where 20.9% of the population are excessive drinkers.
Eisenzimer prefers Caesars (mixed with Clamato instead of tomato juice) but was always disappointed in the consistency of the Caesars she was served.
“They’d spend five minutes making one and they were never the same,” said Eisenzimer, describing the sight of a bartender pulling together all the ingredients: juice from a jar of olives, Tabasco, black pepper, “you name it.”
Now, Parker’s Hangover Tonic is a popular item at Joe’s Parkway Market in Bozeman, just across the street from the Montana State University campus.
Customers come looking for Parker’s Hangover Tonic because, said Eisenzimer, “You can mix a perfect caesar or bloody mary in 10 seconds.”
Her company motto promises: “When you feel dead, it’ll clear your head,” offering relief to imbibers nationwide, but perhaps more per capita in places like Gallatin County.
Challengers to the Crown
As of 2024, Gallatin County's estimated population is 127,880, with a growth rate of 1.16% in the past year, according to World Population Review. That’s down from an increase of 4.5% between 2019 and 2020, back when the popularity of White Claw foamed over to the point Big Sky’s Joshua Shamberger created Captain White Claw.
Next year, Gallatin County could relinquish the drunkest county title to Missoula County or any number of counties in Wisconsin. Dane County, home to the University of Wisconsin, is just a percentage point behind Gallatin County.
Wyoming, on the other hand, has some catching up to do if one of its counties aspires to be named drunkest in all the land.
Besides the boozy hotbeds of Teton and Albany counties, Wyoming is saddled with a couple of real lightweights: Johnson and Hot Springs counties, where around 15% of the population are considered heavy drinkers.
That’s the lowest percentages in the state and numbers like that give credence to a popular bumper sticker and t-shirt, which reads, “Wisconsin: Out drinking your state since 1848.”
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
