While our attention was distracted by the shutdown and associated Inside The Beltway Kabuki Theater, someone stole 65 cases (195 bottles) of the finest sour-mash corn likker ever to touch your tongue.
(CNN) -- A bourbon heist at a high-end Kentucky distillery has left tongues wagging in elite whiskey circles and some small-town cops wondering whodunit.
The Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort noticed this week that it was missing some of its 20-year-old Pappy Van Winkle, one of the rarest and most sought after bourbons in the world.
"It's highly coveted," said Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton, the man leading the investigation. "It's the best of the best."
. . .
Just how coveted is Pappy Van Winkle? While the listed retail price is $130 per bottle, the bourbon is so rare that consumers usually end up paying much more to get a bottle, if they can find one, said Tom Fischer of bourbonblog.com.
"There is a lot of mystery around how to even get one," he said.
One place to get one is online retailer dukeofbourbon.com, where a bottle of 20-year-old Pappy Van Winkle costs $1,199.