There were a lot of high profile booze heists in 2017, such as the Paris Catacombs wine burglary and the $800,000 La Maison du Whisky score but we’re only a couple of days into 2018, and one Danish thief is already upping the ante. The perpetrator broke into Café 33 Bar in Copenhagen early Tuesday morning and stole a bottle of Russo-Baltique vodka worth approximately $1.3 million, according to the Danish news outlet TV2 Lorry. There was no sign of forced entry, leading authorities to believe the burglar had a key, key copy, or picked the lock.
The bottle itself is made out of 6.5 pounds of gold, 6.5 pounds of sliver, and features a diamond laden cap in the shape of the Russian Imperial Eagle. And if the ornate covering weren’t enough, the glass bottle inside is bulletproof. That’s because Dartz Motorz Company, an armored car manufacturer, produces the vodka in addition to its vehicles.
The Russo-Baltique was just one bottle in a 1,200 bottle collection, and it was the only bottle stolen, leading investigators to believe the thief had the target in mind ahead of time. The bottle has been made famous by its appearance in season 3 of “House of Cards” in which the Russian president presents President Francis Underwood the bottle, and they take a shot, or three, during a series of toasts at a state dinner.
Bar owner Brian Ingberg is understandably crushed, and is offering a reward for the vodka’s safe return.
