Dec. 3 (UPI) -- In an effort to solve the heist of 195 bottles of 20-year Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve bourbon and 27 bottles of 13-year Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye from the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort in mid-October, Kentucky authorities are offering a $10,000 reward.
More than 100 people have been interviewed since the pricey booze disappeared, but no arrests have been made. Authorities are also monitoring websites like Craigslist, eBay and bourbon blogs for any sign of the stolen spirits. The missing whiskey is valued at about $26,000.
"We're just trying to bring Pappy home," said Sheriff Pat Melton.
Kentucky produces 95 percent of the world's bourbon and Melton said the "eyes and ears" of bourbon lovers are on the lookout for the missing alcohol. He’s hopeful that the cash reward will help his detectives solve the case. "The net is narrowing," he said.
The attention that the stolen whiskey has generated has “made it extremely hot to try to move or sell right now," Melton said.
Old Town Wine and Spirits in Louisville typically charges $110 per bottle for the 20-year-old Pappy bourbon.
"Whenever we do have it, we really never admit to having it and we kind of stash it and hope to get it to our better customers," said store owner Gordon Jackson. “The whiskey is extremely good. That one has a lot of lore, a lot of mystique and it's really, really good."
[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
