Netflix And Bourbon World Collide In Heist Documentary – Covering The Largest Pappy Theft Of All Time

Few things pair better together than Netflix and a great whiskey. There’s no question of Netflix’s success and video streaming service is upping the ante once more. A tall pour of bourbon and Netflix’s upcoming Heist documentary series are the perfect pairing.

Heist’s 2021 release covers three individual storylines. A Vegas vault thief, a Miami airport shakedown and the largest bourbon theft that’s ever taken place play host to the new true crime documentary. That’s right. The story of Gilbert Curtsinger is finally being told in video format, retelling the shocking story of how cases of bottles and literal barrels were stolen from Buffalo Trace and resold. The bourbon was none other than Pappy and other Van Winkle bottlings.

In 2015, Curtsinger was arrested after making the majority of sales at rec softball leagues in Kentucky. Buffalo Trace noted that 65 cases of various Rip Van Winkle and Pappy bottlings were missing in 2013, though investigations ultimately dead ended until a tip was filed after sales were made.

While MSRP on Old Rip Van Winkle and Pappy Van Winkle bourbon bottlings is relatively affordable – $69-$299 based on the vintage and age – resale value on the shady black markets is many times that. Prices soar from $600 to nearly $3,000 for each years’ releases. It’s no wonder that these bottles are ripe for theft, or even counterfeiting, as a result.

Curtsinger and others were arrested and tried for receiving and selling stolen goods. At the time of his arrest, he was also in possession of several barrels of Wild Turkey whiskey. The distilleries aren’t far apart, though it’s no small task to lift a 500+ pound barrel of whiskey and make off like a literal bandit.

Sentenced to 15 years in prison but released after 30 days as a part of Kentucky’s “shock probation” program, Curtsinger is serving the rest of his time under probation. The story of Pappygate – as the theft, resale and court drama is referred to – has been purely text only until this point, and interviews with Curtsinger have been scarce.

Heist airs on July 14th to subscribers of Netflix. We’ll certainly be watching, bourbon in hand.

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