A mysterious heist took place in central Kentucky last Wednesday, in which five barrels of aging bourbon, weighing 500 lb. each, were stolen from a warehouse on Wild Turkey’s Camp Nelson property. Investigators say there were no signs of forcible entry.

The case led authorities to a backyard in Franklin County, where the barrels were found hidden behind a shed last week. The labelling on top of each barrel had been spray-painted.

Recent tests have confirmed that the barrels do indeed contain Wild Turkey bourbon, distilled in 2009. According to Dave Karraker, a spokesman for Campari America, the US subsidiary of Wild Turkey’s owners, the bourbon was slated to become Wild Turkey 101, the brand’s flagship product, typically aged for five to eight years and valued at roughly $3,000 per barrel.

Since the theft, Wild Turkey has tightened security across its operations and is doing a full inventory of its stockpiles. “Until the sheriff’s department does a further investigation, we’re not going to speculate who might be involved,” Karraker said.

So far, one man, Gilbert Thomas Curtsinger, 45, has been arrested and charged with multiple offenses, including receiving stolen property over $10,000. “Obviously, there was more than one person involved in this case. We are looking at several potential folks that are involved,” said Franklin County sheriff Pat Melton.

Curtsinger, a longtime employee at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment last week. 

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