Thieves Bolt With Bounty of Beloved Bourbon

Bandits have made off with some 65 cases of cherished 20-year-old Pappy Van Winkle bourbon, a haul valued at $26,000.

According to a report from the Courier Journal, the heist looks to have been an inside job. The bottles were stolen from a secure area of the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Ky.

"This is the mac daddy," Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton told the Courier Journal.

Only 7,000 cases of Pappy Van Winkle are produced a year. Sheriff Melton added that the bottles could be worth between $300 and $400 on the secondary market.

Pappy's 20-year-old has won dozens of awards, including double gold medals for the 2007 and 2008 Sav Francisco World Spirits Competition. In 2010, it won best of show, best whiskey and a double gold medal at the Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition.

Upon hearing of the loss, Pappy fans reacted like Obi-Wan Kenobi sensing the destruction of Alderaan.

"I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened."


Terrible indeed. Reaction on Twitter has shown similar alarm.