Mark Megahan
The Glenfarclas distillery in Speyside, Scotland had some after hours guests stop by their visitor center over the weekend. It means that you’ll probably see some unicorn offerings appearing quietly for sale on the internet soon. Thieves made off with 20 bottles of rare whisky. Really rare. Over $184,000 worth. Gone in 240 seconds. Keep your eye out for deals on “Family Casks” and turn them in for a reward. Better than getting burnt buying hot whisky.
Unicorn rustlers hit Glenfarclas
Scottish police are scrounging for clues after the guest shop at the Glenfarclas distillery was burglarized. From now on, the proprietors will put colored water in the display case bottles and keep the good stuff in a vault where it belongs.
Anyone willing to shell out $22,000 or so for a single bottle doesn’t mind waiting for one to be brought out when the transaction is ready to go down.
The inventory sheet indicates 20 bottles of the rarest whisky are gone. The combined value is estimated at over $184,000. All that’s known, so far, is that the thieves picked the early morning hours of Sunday, May 15, to break into the Glenfarclas visitor center.
Their competitors are all on edge because the Speyside location in northeastern Scotland is “known for its distilleries.” According to the security cameras, the “thieves were only inside the building for about four minutes.” It was long enough “to steal some of the brand’s most valuable bottles, including releases from its Family Casks series and a 60-year-old single malt.”
It’s obvious, the Glenfarclas management notes, that they “knew exactly what they were looking for.”
Production manager Callum Fraser relates “they made their way straight to our cabinet that holds our most expensive whisky.” There’s no “e” in there because it’s made in Scotland.
Family Casks collection
Glenfarclas calls their Family Casks line a collection of their finest single casks. They have unicorn vintages “from every year dating back to 1954.”
The 60-year-old single-malt they dripped out “is one of the most expensive whiskies from Speyside, regularly selling for in excess of $22,000 per bottle.” It comes in a handsome box.
While investigators don’t have a lot to go on, there is one thing they’re reasonably certain of. Whoever hit Glenfarclas isn’t one of the neighborhood burglars.
Police “don’t believe anyone local was involved in the heist.” Instead, they’re “looking to trace two men.” They think the men traveled to the area so they’re canvassing all the hotels and online rentals.
Police are also asking if any of the local boarding establishments noticed anyone or anything suspicious to give them a jingle. It turns out that Glenfarclas “isn’t the only Speyside distillery that’s had to deal with thieves in recent months.”
Aberlour Distillery announced “that thieves broke into its visitor center while the distillery was closed for the holidays.” They lost some rare bottles too. It was reportedly worth a “five figure sum.” They must already keep their really good stuff away from the visitors.
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