£14k whisky raid on shop

Exclusive malt nabbed from distillery

Seven bottles of whisky – including an exclusive malt valued at around £12,000 – have been stolen from the Tullibardine Distillery in Blackford.

Police are looking for a man seen walking near the A9 in connection with the haul, which included an Antarctic Expedition Tullibardine Single Malt – one of only two bottles of its kind produced.

The first bottle was auctioned to raise funds for Help for Heroes charity at a dinner for the 2012 British Services Antarctic Expedition which marked the centenary of Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated expedition to the South Pole.

The stolen bottle had been kept for posterity and display purposes at the distillery and, while never for sale, was estimated to be worth around £12,000.

The shop at the distillery in Blackford’s Stirling Street was broken into sometime between 5pm on Saturday, September 17, and 9.25am the following day.

In total, around £14,000-worth of whisky and two glasses were stolen.

Two of the stolen bottles were contained within a wooden display case which was also taken.

The display case held a bottle of Highland Queen 52-year-old single malt, a Highland Queen 50-yearold blend and two glasses.

It is described as dark wood, about two feet high and one foot wide. It opens down the middle and has two hinges at the side to display the contents.

During the theft, a glass cabinet was pushed over and a bottle of

30- year- old single malt Highland Queen whisky – worth more than £100 – was taken out of its box and stolen.

And four bottles of whisky were also taken from behind the till counter.

These included a limited edition Tullibardine 1993 70ml single malt valued at around £ 400, a Highland Queen 12- year- old single malt and a Tullibardine Sauternes single malt.

Police officers want to speak to anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious that evening, or anyone who is offered any of the stolen items for sale.

In particular, officers are looking to trace a man seen walking with two bags near the A9 at Blackford just before 10pm on Saturday night.

He is described as being between 25 and 35- yearsold, of medium build and was wearing a red top, light coloured shorts and ‘worker’ boots at the time.

Anyone who saw this man or has information which could help officers with their enquiries should contact Police Scotland on the nonemergency number, 101.

Or, they can pass information anonymously to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

No-one was available from Tullibardine Distillery to speak about the thefts before the Herald went to press.