Prized bottles of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon that were spirited away by a whiskey-theft ring in Kentucky might end up being destroyed rather than auctioned off, a sheriff said Wednesday.
Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton backed off his suggestion that 28 bottles of the prestigious Pappy Van Winkle brand be sold at auction, with proceeds going mostly to charitable causes.
Julian Van Winkle III, grandson of Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle Sr., raised concerns about putting the purloined whiskey up for sale, Melton said. Van Winkle wants the stolen bourbon destroyed because of concerns it might have been tampered or contaminated, the sheriff said.
“We totally respect his wishes,” Melton said.
But ultimately, a judge will decide the fate of the confiscated whiskey once the theft case is completed.
The 28 bottles of the super-premium bourbon were confiscated by the sheriff’s office as part of the investigation into the theft ring. Officials say it was led by rogue distillery workers. The scheme went on for years and involved tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of whiskey before it unraveled last year, authorities said.
Melton said he suggested the auction because he wanted to “see some good” come out of the theft case. He suggested auction proceeds go to such causes as the Kentucky Sheriff’s Association’s Boys and Girls Ranch.
Industry observer F. Paul Pacult, editor of the newsletter Spirit Journal, said Wednesday that it would have been “foolhardy and irresponsible” to auction the bottles.
“What if, by chance, these stolen bottles ended by being stored improperly by the alleged robbers, causing damage to the whiskey or, worse, if they had been tampered with by the accused,” Pacult said. “In Van Winkle’s eyes, the risk of harming the reputation of his hallowed brand isn’t worth the publicity.”
Not everyone agrees, though. Carla Carlton, who writes a blog about bourbon, said destroying the bottles “seems like adding a crime on top of a crime.”
Carlton said she doubted that winning bidders would buy the whiskey to drink, which would lower the value of the bottles. Instead, they’d probably display the bottles as collector’s items, she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.Â
I WOULD USE TO MAKE KENTUCKY DERBY PECAN PIES, ALSO SPRAY ON MY FRUIT CAKES AND MAKE BOURBON SAUCE FOR MY AWARD WINING BREAD PUDDING.
I suspect the sheriff is thinking some of those bottles night “disappear” before they get to be destroyed.
Not that any corrupt cop EVER made something disappear from the evidence locker, ever…
If they’ve been tampered with, that could be dangerous. If they haven’t been tampered with, that’d be a waste to dilute them by using them as a mere cooking brandy.
I WOULD USE THE BOURBON IN MY BAKING AND GRILLING. I USE BOURBON ON MY FRUIT CAKES FOR 30 DAYS BEFORE SLICING AND SERVING THEM AT CHRISTMAS. I ALSO USE GOOD BOURBON IN MY SAUCE FOR MY AWARD WINING BREAD PUDDING, I ALSO USE A HALF CUP OF BOURBON IN MY KENTUCKY DERBY PECAN PIE, GRILLED SALMON BEGS FOR BOURBON GLAZE WITH LIGHT BROWN SUGAR,
I AM A CHEF AND A MASTER BAKER AND I COK AND BAKE WITH BOURBON, SOMETIME I TAKE A NIP OF IT.
What as waste.
The whiskey should be returned to the owner once it is no longer needed for the trial. In this case, the owner appears to be the distillery. Once they get their property back they can decide what they want to do with it. Law enforcement should not be in the liquor selling business.
I agree 100%! R D Sharp Point Cedar Ar. If they need a taster, I;ll damn shore do some testing fer them!!!! The End.
The damn Judge courts thives and HIGH Sheriff are all thieves if they take control of the booze!
yep i agree, let the owners deal with it.
Confiscated Whiskey is not like drug enforcement confiscated cars, trucks,motorcycles, of houses. This whiskey is like the TV stolen from a person’s home, it gets returned to the owner. The whiskey should be returned to the distillery
whatever you do with it, just don’t spill it on the furniture or smoke near it.lol
stolen prop goes back to owner ……………………….. no brainer
The sheriff does not own the bourbon.
The thieves do not own the bourbon.
The court does not own the bourbon.
Who is the legal owner of the bourbon?
The bourbon belongs to the owner.
“The bourbon belongs to the owner.”
Yes, but bourbon doesn’t exactly have serial numbers connecting it to a registered owner. Although it’s likely all the bourbon came from the distillery’s storage facilities, there’s no way to prove it. And if it was stolen while in shipment, the law can be somewhat fuzzy about exactly when ownership passes from one party to another.
Have these folk never heard of laboratory testing? This is an easy problem to solve. Extensive testing would not be cheap, but, considering the value of the items, good testing would be cost-effective.
I don’t see why they can’t just etch a warning into the glass. As a collectible, it might add value. As a drinkable, well, the warning would be there and it would be sold “as-is.” Seriously, why would the fact that it was stolen make it any more likely to be contaminated than any other vintage bottling?
It’s a good possibility that the whiskey might be poisoned or contaminated. Why not send each of the 28 bottles to a private lab for determination and if found (not so!) auction the bottles off and add the lab cost to the cost of the auctioned bottles?
Add-On. Of course if the whiskey was stolen and the rightful owner can prove ownership then the whiskey by all intents and purposes should be returned to the rightful owner!
If they were stolen from Van Winkle’s distillary, he has the last word as to what is done with them.