Cask 12
Cases unlock in order, like levels. This is case 37 of 100.
Keane Distillery, in Ballykeel, County Cork, Ireland, 11:15 pm. Seamus Keane, 68, master distiller, was found dead in Warehouse 3, in the aisle of cask 12.
A blow to the head, between 10:40 pm and 10:55 pm. Beside him lay the iron mallet from the cooperage. Cask 12, from 1974, is the most valuable in the house and was to be opened at Sunday's jubilee.
It was raining, the distillery gate closes at 9 pm and no outsider came in. Three people had access to the warehouses that night. One of them is lying about where they were.
The distillery office, smell of malt and damp wood, fine rain tapping on the window.
Suspects
Siobhan KeaneSeamus's daughter and successor, 36
Declan ByrneThe distillery's accountant, 49
Padraig DoyleThe distillery's cooper, 58
The real case
The theft of Pappy Van Winkle and Wild Turkey, "Pappygate"
Kentucky, United States, 2008 to 2018
This case is a work of fiction. The characters, names, places and events in the game do not portray real people. The account below is a factual summary, based on public sources, of the case that served as inspiration.
In 2013, the Buffalo Trace distillery in Kentucky reported dozens of cases of Pappy Van Winkle missing, one of the most sought-after bourbons in the world. The investigation revealed that an employee of the distillery itself, with help from coworkers and an employee of another company, had been diverting bottles and entire barrels for years and selling them to collectors.
Nine people were indicted in 2015; the ringleader pleaded guilty in 2018. Cases like this one and the rare wine forgeries showed how an old spirit can be swapped for cheap liquid inside the original bottle, with the seal redone.
The game borrows the trusted employee who diverts a rare spirit from his own employer and the tampered barrel. Characters, crime and outcome are fiction.
Sources
Case glossary
Words from this case you might not know.
- cooperage
- A workshop where wooden barrels and casks are made and repaired.
- cooper
- A craftsman who makes and repairs wooden barrels and casks.
- master distiller
- The senior expert in charge of making and ageing a distillery's spirits.