Locally made whiskey worth €200,000 stolen from Loosbroek distillery
Around 2,000 expensive bottles of whiskey were stolen from the Bus Whisky distillery in Loosbroek, Noord-Brabant, the Brabants Dagblad reported on Friday. Owner Dennis Hurkmans said that he thinks the total value of the bottles taken in the recent burglary is in the range of 180,000 to 200,000 euros. He offered a full barrel of whiskey as a reward to anyone with information that leads to catching the perpetrators.
The break-in was discovered on Thursday morning. Hurkmans was surprised by the incident. “Who steals something like that?” he said to reporters. The business owner believes that the thieves were targeting Bus Whisky specifically.
“A pallet full of expensive, organic wine was just delivered in front of the door. They could have taken it with them, but they just left it there.”
Bus Whisky was founded in 2016 as an exclusive brand, with half-liter bottles ranging in price from 59 euros for a three-year single malt Bourbon, to 120 euros for certain special edition varieties. The incident is a setback for the small business, produces about 15,000 bottles annually. However, the continuity of the growing company will not be jeopardized by the theft.
The thieves made off with bottles which had just been stored in a new facility. Because of this, it is unclear whether the company’s insurers will cover the damage.
The robbers will have a tough time selling the exclusive whisky, said Hurkmans, who questioned wondered what the thieves plan to do with the stolen goods. “We are telling people about this theft so that they know about it. Hopefully, if they receive a suspicious offer, they will report it to the police.”
