Inside job? ABC embezzlement case points to leaks in hunt for rare bottles of bourbon

In the search for hard-to-find bottles of bourbon at Virginia ABC stores, some liquor enthusiasts have been worried about leaks of a more serious kind.

Employees of the government-run liquor monopoly would have access to highly valuable inside information about which products were going where, and the system could lead to some buyers getting tipped off early about stores that would be selling rare bottles of Blanton’s, Buffalo Trace or other brands, many bourbon collectors complained.

In April, when ABC was announcing a new, randomized “drop” system, where only a few stores are selected to put out their supply of limited-availability bottles, one commenter on the agency’s public Facebook page suggested someone had been trying to sell intel to bourbon buyers on where the best bottles would be.

“I had someone tell me that they have a back door in to the VABC computer system… when they had the Stagg release they knew how many bottles were going to be at what stores,” another commenter wrote, adding a shrug emoji.

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