Stolen Pappy Van Winkle may be destroyed

Almost 30 bottles of rare Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon recovered by police from a Kentucky-based theft ring will most likely be destroyed and not auctioned as previously believed.

Almost 30 stolen bottles of rare Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon are likely to be destroyed

Reports circulated last year that Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton proposed auctioning 28 bottles of Pappy Van Winkle recovered during a high profile Bourbon theft case.

However, the Lexington Herald-Leader now reports that Julian Van Winkle III, president of the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery, has objected to the proposals and expressed concerns that the bottles may have been contaminated.

He therefore asked that the highly-coveted Bourbon, which is extremely popular among whiskey enthusiasts, be destroyed.

In May last year, nine people were charged with forming a criminal syndicate to steal and sell barrels and bottles of Bourbon from the Wild Turkey and Buffalo Trace distilleries.

The investigation first launched in 2013 when workers discovered 65 cases of highly coveted Pappy Van Winkle had been pilfered from Buffalo Trace – amounting to an estimated loss of US$26,000.

Authorities quickly deduced that that crime has most likely been committed as part of an “inside job”.

Eighteen months later five casks of Wild Turkey Bourbon were discovered in the backyard of Buffalo Trace worker Gilbert Curtsinger.

The 45-year-old was subsequently identified as the “ring leader” of the group, which is thought to have stolen more than US$100,000 worth of Bourbon over seven years.

Mark Searcy, who worked at the Buffalo Trace distillery, was among the list of those charged, while a Buffalo Trace security guard admitted to “turning a blind eye” to the thefts.

The case is ongoing, but the majority of those charged have so far pleaded no guilty.