Principal named person of interest in Bourbon heist investigation

Police searching for the culprit who stole US$26,000 of rare Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon have named a Kentucky principal as a person of interest.

Principal Chris Pickett denies that he attempted to flog bottles of rare Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon

Bardston High School principal Chris Picket has denied allegations that he tried to sell a “large quantity” of the Bourbon to Packages & More Liquors last weekend.

Lawyers for Pickett claimed that he was merely enquiring about the store’s stocks of Pappy Van Winkle as he wanted to increase his current collection.

However, the store’s manager claimed that Pickett tried to flog bottles of the sought-after brand.

As reported in The Spirits Business, around 65 cases of 20-year-old Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon were lifted from the Buffalo Trace distillery earlier this month.

Buffalo Trace initially believed the theft to be an “inside job”, with master blender Drew Mayville claiming that “the palettes had been hollowed out so no-one noticed immediately”.

Police said that Pickett had been “very cooperative” and that “nobody has been ruled out as a person of interest”.