Police on the Hunt for Whisky Thief Accused of Smuggling $41,000 Bottle in His Underpants

(Photo: Victoria Police)

On Wednesday, police in Melbourne East, Australia, asked for the public’s help in identifying an alleged thief accused of stuffing a $41,000 bottle of Johnnie Walker scotch whisky down his pants. The brazen heist allegedly occurred May 22.

Footage shared by the Victoria Police shows a man wearing a black baseball cap and shirt wandering into an upscale liquor store and chatting with staff. Hands stuffed in his pockets, he appears to ask an employee about a bottle situated just off-camera. Though the moment he snatches the whisky isn’t caught on tape, the staff member reportedly turned away for just “a brief moment” before the suspect vanished. The man is later seen running through a garage parking lot clutching something in the center of his shorts.

The whisky at the center of the case — Johnnie Walker Masters of Flavour — was originally unveiled in 2021 as the third and final release in the distiller’s Masters series. Limited to just 288 bottles (at least one of which is now in the hands of a thief), the 41.8%-ABV scotch blended rare reserves aged a total of 48 years.

Housed inside a dazzling emerald green decanter, the spirit is said to balance aromas of gentle smoke, molasses and leather-bound books with flavors of star anise, crushed peppercorn, oak embers and butterscotch. Retailers in the U.S. and Scotland typically offer the bottle for around $29,999. In Australia, however, where excise duty taxes can increase the price of hard liquor nearly two-fold, the bottle was reportedly on sale at AUS $62,000 (USD $41,338).

(Photo: Johnnie Walker)

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