Kentucky police are expending resources and rewards to try to find the thieves who took $26,000 worth of rare bourbon and rye from a distillery in October.

Nearly 200 bottles of revered, exalted 20-year-old Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve bourbon and 27 bottles of 13-year-old Van Winkle rye disappeared from a locked warehouse in October, making headlines due to the quality and rarity of the brand.

At the time, Sheriff Pat Melton said he thought it was probably an inside job. "I think it’s going to be a tough case to solve... You got about 50 employees that had access," he told the Kentucky State Journal.

But despite interviewing more than 100 people and monitoring Craigslist, eBay and bourbon blogs for weeks, police have not found the bourbon.

Melton still seems confident though, telling the AP that the heightened attention to the case has "made it extremely hot to try to move or sell right now," and adding, "The net is narrowing."

[image via Shutterstock]