Stolen: $26K in Rare, Coveted 'Pappy' Bourbon

Someone out there must be planning a really big, and also illegal, party: Authorities say more than $26,000 worth of rare bourbon has been stolen from Kentucky's Buffalo Trace Distillery. That's 65 cases, or 195 bottles, of Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve 20 Year bourbon, which sells for about $130 per bottle and is reportedly the top-rated bourbon whiskey in the world. Nine bottles of Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye, worth about $25 a bottle, were also stolen over the past few months; police suspect an inside job, the State Journal reports.

BusinessWeek notes that the 20-year version of "Pappy," as bourbon lovers call it, is extremely difficult to get your hands on; people sign up on waiting lists hundreds of names long. Even an empty bottle will set you back $89. In July, the head of the distillery told Louisville Magazine that "we have people with literally billions of dollars who can’t find a bottle. They could buy a private jet in cash. They’d have an easier time buying our company." Why so difficult? The version currently being sold was bottled years before things like Mad Men boosted demand for bourbon. (More theft stories.)