Diverting Pappy Is Not Criminal But It Might Be Unethical

 If you live in Oregon and have always wondered: 

"Why don't I ever see Pappy Van Winkle on the shelves? Is there some nefarious conspiracy that is snatching up allocated bourbon? Is the system stacked against me?"

I have the answers:

No one ever sees it on shelves / In Oregon, yes / Generally speaking to all systems, yes

Oregon is what's known as a “Control State.” This is when a state agency oversees the distribution and sales of liquor in the state. Fun fact, just over a third of the States in United States have this supervision. Actually, that fact is not fun. It is convivial at best.

This week, the Oregon Department of Justice concluded that no criminal charges are warranted for the six former Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission employees who routed bottles of in-demand bourbon for their personal purchase. The "accused" employees would work together and "request" that allocated and rare bourbons be sent to a specific store, where the requester would promptly purchase them.

So if it's not criminal what these ex-employees did, is it unethical? They paid full price at a store, but they also set the price ... and knew which stores had which bourbons. Or was this just a fringe benefit to working the job? 

We don't get to decide such matters (but we can debate them endlessly online). The Oregon Government Ethics Commission has restarted its ethics investigation to weigh in on their fates now that the criminal probe has concluded. If you're one of those employees still under investigation, it might be time to crack open that Pappy before it's too late.