Supposedly, the bourbon was taken from a separate locked cage stored in a secure area of the bottling plant. The perpetrator allegedly knocked the bolts out of the cage itself and remove the backing, and then removed bottles a small number at a time from the back of the batch, so that it did not appear there was anything taken from the front.

 

Let's set aside for a minute the fact that it strikes me as extremely odd that a batch of this valuable bourbon would be stored in a separate secure area, in an even more secure separated cage, and that that cage would not be under some sort of surveillance video.

I worked in Asset Protection/ Loss Prevention at a management level for the last 9 years. Brewer is either very naive never suffering any real loss in the past or almost negligent with that set up. How do you not Audit something that valuable regularly, no camera in this day of cameras placed in every corner of ever warehouse in the nation, sounds like security cage wasn't much more than a dog kennel that they bought at Lowes. Bad performance IMO by those in charge of security or those above that have to approve the expenditures for security.

I worked in Asset Protection/ Loss Prevention at a management level for the last 9 years. Brewer is either very naive never suffering any real loss in the past or almost negligent with that set up. How do you not Audit something that valuable regularly, no camera in this day of cameras placed in every corner of ever warehouse in the nation, sounds like security cage wasn't much more than a dog kennel that they bought at Lowes. Bad performance IMO by those in charge of security or those above that have to approve the expenditures for security.

 

This sounds like a new gig for you. :thumb:

I had a 2 oz shot of 15 yr while tailgating at the Highlands/Elder game. I know nothing....and I saw nothing. I drank something though and it was unreal. I felt it all the way to my toes and it was very smooth.

 

I will be on the lookout for 20 yr Evan Williams now, thanks Hearsay.

Fall Break

 

Fall Break for BHS was weeks ago.

With all due respect, that is pretty cynical. I know literally dozens of people who have gone to our local liquor stores and asked about their supply of pappy van winkle once they heard of the news. The only difference between them and my client is that the store clerk in my clients case decided to misinterpret some casual comments and report it to the police. The fact of the matter is that the liquor store owner has made a lot of publicity out of the event, even giving a long podcast on the nation's only bourbon blog site and having them promote his liquor store. I personally went to the store on Saturday to speak with the clerk in question, and a female clerk who was also there got very nervous and said she did not remember anything. The mail clerk who supposedly made the report claimed that his owner had instructed him not to speak with anyone except the police, which I found very odd given that they had given several publicity interviews. Again, if he had nothing to hide, why wouldn't he speak with me? Frankly, you have to have a good understanding of how things are marketed and publicized in the Bourbon industry. There are a lot of people getting a lot of free advertising and making a lot of money off of this story. The Buffalo trace distillery and the Vanwinkle family have been very quiet about this matter, and there is a growing number of people, including law enforcement people, who believe that this may very well have been a hoax. In the meantime, my client has had his reputation trashed. You and I are on opposite sides of the judicial spectrum on these types of matters, but even given my representation, it is extremely cynical to claim that someone who asks if a liquor store has a given product for sale is suspicious.

 

I really don't believe we are on opposite sides of the spectrum on these issues. We may lean different directions but we certainly are not opposites so to speak.

 

I have a lot of respect for you too Hearsay and you can term my comments cynical, but they are reality.

Hearsay, I am going to play Devil's Advocate. If I were a representative of Pappy or Buffalo Trace, my retort to you would be the Pappy Bourbon does not need anymore international celebrity, it sells at very high prices as fast as it is bottled.

 

Again, not arguing, just if I represented either bourbon company, that would be my arguement back to you. Due to how the bourbon was stolen over a period of time, I have to think this is an inside job so doubt a principal could do it. Let's just hope for his sake he isn't good friends with a warehouse worker.

 

I agree, but after thinking about the whole thing for a few minutes, who could the thefts occur over a long time? How long do the bottles sit at the distributor? I would assume that once the bourbon is bottled, the bottles do not sit for long and are sold as soon as possible. If the thefts took place over a long period, I do not care how bad the security is, someone would surely have noticed, right? Were the cases sold missing two bottles? No liquor store complained/questioned? No one from accounting questioned selling/buying 10 bottles at 12 bottle price, with the documentation all saying 12 bottles were sold/bought? I mean, to me it does sound like there was a shortcoming in security, but that is much more common than one thinks. But, it also sounds like their accounting practices are very lose to not discover the thefts, of they took place over a long time.

I agree, but after thinking about the whole thing for a few minutes, who could the thefts occur over a long time? How long do the bottles sit at the distributor? I would assume that once the bourbon is bottled, the bottles do not sit for long and are sold as soon as possible. If the thefts took place over a long period, I do not care how bad the security is, someone would surely have noticed, right? Were the cases sold missing two bottles? No liquor store complained/questioned? No one from accounting questioned selling/buying 10 bottles at 12 bottle price, with the documentation all saying 12 bottles were sold/bought? I mean, to me it does sound like there was a shortcoming in security, but that is much more common than one thinks. But, it also sounds like their accounting practices are very lose to not discover the thefts, of they took place over a long time.

 

Pappy is only sold during one month of the year, I believe, which would explain why they have been sitting around. I think October is the month.

Pappy is only sold during one month of the year, I believe, which would explain why they have been sitting around. I think October is the month.

Didn't they move from twice/year to once/year this year?

Didn't they move from twice/year to once/year this year?

 

I think so. Used to be a spring and a fall release; Now it's just fall.

Pappy is only sold during one month of the year, I believe, which would explain why they have been sitting around. I think October is the month.

 

Ah, I was not aware of this. This certainly negates everything I said. So, now you all know I do not drink the stuff! Thanks

Still looking for the thiefs.....

 

Reward offered in case of missing Kentucky bourbon - News Story

 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Authorities trying to solve a distillery heist that netted cases of prized Kentucky bourbon have monitored websites and interviewed more than 100 people since the pricey whiskey was taken weeks ago. Now a cash reward is getting mixed in.

 

Sheriff Pat Melton in Kentucky's Franklin County dangled a $10,000 reward on Monday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever stole the hard-to-get Pappy Van Winkle bourbon and rye whiskey. The whiskey was taken from the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort in mid-October.

 

The heist netted 195 bottles of 20-year-old Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve bourbon and 27 bottles of 13-year-old Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye. The missing whiskey has a retail value of about $26,000.

Alleged ringleader in major bourbon heist enters guilty plea

 

Gilbert "Tony"'Curtsinger pleaded guilty to seven counts in Franklin Circuit Court on Wednesday. Those charges range from theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property to possession of drug paraphernalia.

 

In court records, a self-described middleman in the case said Curtsinger sold cases of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon. Dustin Adkins says Curtsinger told him he had the bourbon because the labels were "messed up."

 

Curtsinger's wife entered an Alford plea last year to possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance.

 

The prosecution recommended Curtsinger spend 15 years in prison.

Edited September 20, 20179 yr by Jumper_Dad

Had my first try of 10 year old Pappy last weekend in Hilton Head. They wanted $60.00 per pour. Tried to negotiate down to $50.00 per pour and the manager said nope! It was on allocation and we would have a hard time finding it elsewhere on the Island. After much debate we decided to go ahead and order 5 pours. We played credit card roulette for the tab. I was second last out of the hat! Whew. Buddy got hung wit the $300.00 plus tip tab!!

Side note, last night I enjoyed a sip of Remy Martin XO

Had my first try of 10 year old Pappy last weekend in Hilton Head. They wanted $60.00 per pour. Tried to negotiate down to $50.00 per pour and the manager said nope! It was on allocation and we would have a hard time finding it elsewhere on the Island. After much debate we decided to go ahead and order 5 pours. We played credit card roulette for the tab. I was second last out of the hat! Whew. Buddy got hung wit the $300.00 plus tip tab!!

Side note, last night I enjoyed a sip of Remy Martin XO

That is insane. My 23 year old I got a few years ago - for the entire bottle - was right at $300.

Had my first try of 10 year old Pappy last weekend in Hilton Head. They wanted $60.00 per pour. Tried to negotiate down to $50.00 per pour and the manager said nope! It was on allocation and we would have a hard time finding it elsewhere on the Island. After much debate we decided to go ahead and order 5 pours. We played credit card roulette for the tab. I was second last out of the hat! Whew. Buddy got hung wit the $300.00 plus tip tab!!

Side note, last night I enjoyed a sip of Remy Martin XO

 

Is it worth the price?