Thieves steal £100,000 worth of Glenfarclas whisky

Speyside-based Glenfarclas Distillery was the victim of a break-in over the weekend, which saw thieves steal more than £100,000 worth of rare whiskies.

The distillery’s visitor centre was broken into in the early hours of Sunday morning. A post published by the family-run distillery on Instagram said: “The thieves clearly knew what they wanted as they smashed the cabinets and cleared out all the older and most valuable Family Casks and a bottle of a 60-year-old, leaving destruction behind.”

The Family Casks is a collection of the distillery’s finest single casks with vintages from every year since 1954.

The Instagram post shows pictures of smashed glass cabinets, which had been emptied of the rare bottles on display.

The caption on the post concludes: “We would ask if you have any information related to this crime or are offered these bottles to please get in touch with us immediately.”

As of Monday morning, the post has been shared 1,400 times across social media, with users branding the crime as a “despicable act”.

In January this year, a spokesperson for Chivas Brothers confirmed that Aberlour Distillery, also based in Speyside, had suffered a break-in of its visitor centre over the winter break, with many high-value bottles stolen.

Last month, Glenfarclas opened entries for the third edition of its 105 Cask Strength Cocktail Competition in the UK.