Reward offered for $26,000 in missing Ky. bourbon

12/2/2013

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for information that helps authorities solve the disappearance of hundreds of bottles of pricey bourbon.

The 65 cases of 20-year-old Pappy Van Winkle bourbon and nine cases of 13-year-old Van Winkle Family Reserve rye were taken from the Buffalo Trace Distillery at Frankfort in mid-October.

The missing whiskey is valued at more than $26,000, and the case has become a compelling mystery in a state that produces 95 percent of the world’s bourbon.

Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton said Monday the reward could provide “a heck of a Christmas” for someone who helps crack the case.

Melton says a crime stopper’s group put up $1,000, but he declined to identify any other donor.

The sheriff says his detectives have interviewed more than 100 people.