In a bold and highly unusual liquor heist, thieves stole nearly $1 million worth of craft whiskey from Westland Distillery in Burlington, Washington, on July 31, 2025. The stolen haul included 12,000 bottles of rare single malt, Watchpost blended, and the coveted 10-year Garryana whiskey.
The incident has sparked concern among whiskey enthusiasts and raised questions about supply chain security in the U.S. spirits industry.
How Did the Craft Whiskey Theft Happen?
According to ABC News the suspects arrived in a freight truck with forged paperwork that appeared to authorize the pickup of a shipment bound for New Jersey. The bottles never reached their destination, and the fraudulent scheme was discovered a week later.
Jason Moore, managing director of Westland Distillery, called it “an unfortunate and pretty extraordinary situation.” The stolen Garryana bottles were part of the distillery’s 10th anniversary release—an irreplaceable batch aged in Pacific Northwest oak casks.
Why Is the Stolen Whiskey So Hard to Sell?
Mark Gillespie, host of the WhiskyCast podcast, explained, “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”.
Unlike Europe, where secondary market sales are legal, the U.S. enforces a strict three-tier system. Distilleries must sell to distributors, who then sell to retailers. Selling alcohol privately or on the black market is generally illegal, making it difficult for thieves to profit from the stolen bottles.
In a brazen heist, thieves used fake documents to steal 12,000 bottles of Westland Distillery’s craft whiskey—worth nearly $1 million—from Burlington, Washington, robbing not just a business, but the essence of artisanal craftsmanship. pic.twitter.com/qH3ham1V3F
— unumihai Media (@unumihaimedia) September 27, 2025
What Makes Garryana Whiskey So Valuable?
Westland’s Garryana whiskey is crafted using local grains, Olympic Peninsula peat, and aged in oak from the Quercus garryana tree. The 2023 edition was ranked the third-best whiskey in the world by Whisky Advocate magazine.
With only 7,500 bottles released this year—and 3,000 now missing—the rarity and prestige of Garryana have skyrocketed, making it a prime target for collectors and criminals alike.
Will Craft Distilleries Tighten Security?
This heist highlights vulnerabilities in the logistics of high-value spirits. As craft whiskey gains global recognition, distilleries may need to invest more in fraud prevention and supply chain monitoring.
