Thieves Steal $1 Million Worth of Craft Whiskey From US Distillery

A distillery in the state of Washington has been shaken by a daring scheme that resulted in the theft of $1 million worth of whiskey. The heist took place in late July, when a person showed up to the distillery with paperwork that suggested they were there for a pickup.

The person loaded their truck with Westland single malt, Watchpost blended, and Garryana whiskies that were purportedly intended to go to New Jersey. The bottles never made it to their proper destination, and the extent of the scheme to steal them was discovered around one week later.

“This is an unfortunate and pretty extraordinary situation,” said Jason Moore, the managing director of the Westland Distillery in Burlington, WA. Losing the Garryana whiskey was especially painful for the distillery, as they were bottles created to mark the distillery's 10th anniversary.

What Exactly Did the Thieves Take in the Heist?

The whiskey inside those bottles was also aged using a special technique - casks made from the Quercus garryana oak tree that is native to the local region. It sells out annually, and this commemorative edition included 7,500 bottles for 2025.

The heist has left around half of that stock - 3,000 bottles - unaccounted for. Experts believe the rarity and scarcity of the whiskey could make it difficult for the thieves to profit.

“It's going to be really hard for whoever took this to actually get this onto the market, because what they took was so rare that everybody knows about it,” said Mark Gillespie, host of the "WhiskyCast" podcast.

Gillespie said that these kinds of thefts and heists are more common in Europe, where laws centered around the distribution of alcohol are different. In America, selling alcohol on the secondary market is usually illegal.

Legality isn't likely to be a concern for thieves who stole $1 million worth of product, but it will make it far more difficult to sell the bottles after the fact.

Losing A Rare, Commemorative Spirit

Gillespie also noted that the decade mark is an important milestone for distilleries, as many aren't able to last that long.

“The providence of the Garryana is important because it's their first 10-year-old whiskey,” he told ABC News.

“Basically, age statements state how old the whiskey is, and in this country you have a lot of craft distilleries that aren't quite 10 years old. So for a craft distillery to be able to release a 10-year-old is an accomplishment.”

Moore says that Westland is working to protect its supply chain in the future, but that they're currently prioritizing their customers and how they can best serve them.

"What happens from there is outside of our control, and we get excited about sharing our whiskey and engaging with the supporters we have,” the managing director said.

“This is an extremely rare thing, and while it's a setback, we're confident that we're going to get to share this whiskey. We're proud to make something people enjoy."