FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- Netflix is debuting an original documentary that features the infamous Pappygate scandal in 2013.
The documentary, called Heist, focuses on Toby Curtsinger, the so-called ring leader of Pappygate.
Curtsinger, a former Buffalo Trace Distillery employee, was charged with felonies for stealing what police say were hundreds of bottles of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon and reselling them. Authorities valued the missing bourbon at more than $100,000.
"I'm telling you right now, if you have seen the stuff that I have seen go out that gate, go in the drain, or get broke, it would blow you away, man," Curtsinger told WDRB News on Wednesday. "But it all got smoothed over ... until this 2013."
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Curtsinger said he was never the ring leader of any bourbon theft ring and that it was the "culture" at Buffalo Trace. He said it began when he was 19 years old working in the warehouse. A supervisor handed him a 3-ounce solo cup of bourbon and told him to drink it.Â
He recalls frequent drinking on the job and stealing bottles of liquor.
"Everybody — basically, at one time — has took a bottle home, has drank something on the job," he said. "It's just kinda hard to explain unless you work there. It's kinda like the culture ... everybody done it."
Buffalo Trace Distillery and the University of Kentucky are working together on a tree planting and research project aimed at strengthening the white oak industry's sustainability. Image courtesy Buffalo Trace Distillery on Facebook.Â
Curtsinger went on to steal many bottles and some barrels. He said he resold them to friends and acquaintances for cash.
“I blink my eye, and the next thing you know, people are wanting to buy stuff from you,” he said. “One thing led to another, and then here I am now."
Following an anonymous tip, police searched Curtsinger's home and discovered several barrels of stolen bourbon and some illegal steroids in the home. Several people, including Curtsinger and a few of his family members, were indicted after an extensive investigation led by Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton.
Several people, including Toby Curtsinger and a few of his family members, were indicted after an extensive investigation led by Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton.
Curtsinger believes there were lies told to indict him and his family.
"That what was said in the grand jury transcripts — 'The Curtsinger residence was a hike for bulk orders of steroids, large quantities of Pappy Van Winkle storage, barrel storage' — that is a bold-faced lie," he said.
"The Bourbon King," as the documentary references him, admits he is guilty. He said he stole some Pappy and other bourbons but didn't take what authorities said he did.
"Was it right? No," he said. "I mean, I look back on a lot of things that I regret and wish never happened. But they did, and I've got to own it and I've got to live with it."
The Curtsingers and many family friends believe there are questions that are left unanswered and holes in the investigation into Pappygate. Curtsinger hopes the documentary will paint the story how he took the fall for a messy distillery culture.
Heist is streaming now on Netflix. The last two episodes in the season, The Bourbon King, feature the Pappygate story.
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