As bourbon booms, thirst for rare brands breeds skullduggery

SALEM, Ore. – Buttery, smooth, oaky. These are characteristics of the best bourbons, and a growing cult of aficionados is willing to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to get their hands on scarce American spirits – and even bend or break laws.

The first challenge is figuring out which liquor stores have these premium bottles on their shelves – and that’s where inside knowledge can give bourbon hunters a leg up, and potentially get them into legal trouble.

In Oregon, several high-ranking officials at the state’s liquor regulating agency are under criminal investigation after an internal probe found they used their influence to obtain scarce bourbons.

That included the holy grail for bourbon fanatics: Pappy Van Winkle 23-year-old, which can sell for tens of thousands of dollars on resale markets. Top-end bourbons have found themselves at the center of criminal investigations in at least three other states, from Virginia to Pennsylvania to Kentucky.

Premium spirits were always expensive and sought-after, but interest is surging. Distillers have upped production to try to meet increased demand, but before the whiskey reaches stores and bars, it must age for years and even decades.

Each state gets a limited amount of Pappy Van Winkle 23-year-old, produced by Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery of Frankfort, Kentucky.

In 2022, Oregon received just 33 bottles.

“The average person cannot get good bottles,” said Cody Walding, a bourbon fan from Houston. He believes he’s years away from finding Buffalo Trace Distillery’s five-bottle Antique Collection, despite making connections with liquor store managers.

“Like, to be able to get Pappy Van Winkle or Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, unless you’re basically best friends with a store manager, I don’t even think it’s possible to get those,” he said. In a Los Angeles bar that Walding visited last week, one shot of Pappy 23-year cost $200.

Six officials from the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission – including then-Executive Director Steve Marks – have acknowledged they had Pappy or another hard-to-get bourbon, Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel, routed to liquor stores for their own purchase. All six denied they resold the bourbons.

Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery’s suggested retail price of Pappy 23-year is $299.99. Because of its extreme scarcity, it can go for a lot more on the resale market.

In December, a single bottle sold at Sotheby’s for a record $52,500. Two other bottles were auctioned for $47,500 apiece. All three were originally released in 2008.

The Oregon agency’s internal investigation determined the employees violated a statute that says public officials cannot use confidential information for personal gain. Gov. Tina Kotek sought Marks’ resignation in February, and he quit. The other five are on paid temporary leave. An investigation by the state Department of Justice’s Criminal Division is ongoing.

Marks did not immediately respond to messages Wednesday seeking comment. In his replies to the commission investigator, Marks denied he had violated ethics laws and state policy. However, he acknowledged that he had received preferential treatment “to some extent” in obtaining the whiskey as a commission employee.

The practice was allegedly going on for many years and involved not only state employees but also members of the Oregon Legislature, the investigator was told.

Five bottles of Oregon’s allotment of Pappy 23-year-old went to “chance to purchase,” a lottery started in 2018. The odds of winning Pappy 23-year were 1 in 4,150.