2025-09-27T23:47:07Z

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Imagine the audacity: thieves pulled off a heist valued at nearly $1 million, making off with 12,000 bottles of rare craft whiskey from Westland Distillery. It’s not just about the money; this heist could forever alter the legacy of a distillery that spent over a decade crafting its prized Garryana whiskey.

The shocking incident occurred on July 31 at Westland Distillery’s warehouse in Burlington, Washington. A freight truck appeared, and the individuals onboard presented what seemed like legitimate paperwork to claim a shipment of single malts destined for New Jersey. But here’s the twist: those bottles never made it to their intended buyers. What followed was a discovery of a “sophisticated, fraudulent carrier scheme,” according to Jason Moore, the distillery’s managing director.

The 10th anniversary edition of Garryana is irreplaceable. Moore described the situation as not just unfortunate but extraordinary. “This is an unfortunate and pretty extraordinary situation,” he stated, highlighting the rarity of what was taken.

The Skagit County Sheriff's Office is now on the case, while whiskey enthusiasts are left in distress, speculating about the fate of the coveted bottles. Mark Gillespie, host of the WhiskyCast podcast, pointed out the difficulty the thieves will have in selling such rare items. “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,” Gillespie explained, likening it to heists in Scotland where stolen goods often find their way to Russia.

Unlike Europe, where auction houses thrive on secondary market sales, the U.S. has strict laws governing alcohol sales. In the U.S., distilleries typically sell to distributors, who then sell to retailers, making it nearly impossible to flip stolen bottles without raising red flags.

The provenance of the Garryana whiskey is crucial. Age statements on whiskey bottles signify their maturity, and for a craft distillery like Westland to release a 10-year-old whiskey is a significant achievement. The Garryana is particularly special because it’s aged in casks made from the indigenous Quercus garryana oak, found predominantly in the Pacific Northwest.

Regularly lauded for its quality, the Garryana whiskey was recently named the third-best whiskey in the world by Whisky Advocate magazine. With only 7,500 bottles released each year, the demand skyrockets before they sell out, making the theft even more impactful.

Despite the financial blow, Moore remains optimistic, focusing on customer engagement rather than the theft investigation. “What happens from there is outside of our control, and we get excited about sharing our whiskey,” he said confidently, reflecting the distillery’s commitment to its community. He believes they’ll continue to thrive, especially since they were acquired by the Remy Cointreau Group in 2016.

However, Gillespie offers a stern warning for those seeking to get their hands on Westland's products: “If somebody tries to offer you a case of Westland whiskey right now, I'd call the cops.”