TWO thieves with some refined and expensive tastes walked into a West Vancouver liquor store recently and made off with a $3,200 bottle of cognac.
The thieves - who stole the bottle from the government liquor store in Park Royal Shopping Centre July 3 - apparently knew what they wanted, said Cpl. Jag Johal, spokesman for the West Vancouver police.
The expensive French cognac is kept in a locked display cabinet at the store.
But the two men were apparently able to wiggle the cabinet door open without anyone noticing. One man then reached in and grabbed the bottle before heading to the front counter and paying for some beer. The duo then walked out of the store carrying the bottle of L'Essence de Courvoisier cognac.
Johal said those involved in the heist had probably done their homework. They might sell the cognac either to a restaurant or a high-end connoisseur for a fraction of the bottle's real value, he said.
According to the manufacturer's website, the cognac is a blend of "extremely special and rare cognac reserves from the Grande Champagne and Borderies crus, which date back to early 1900." It is sold in a crystal decanter.
The specialty cognac was introduced in Canada in the fall of 2010. According to the B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch, only 12 bottles of the cognac have sold in the province in the past year. Only 10 bottles are currently for sale through government liquor stores in the province.
The two thieves are described as First Nations or Asian. One had short-cropped hair and was wearing an olive-green jacket with the collar up and a Black Fox motocross T-shirt. The other man wore a white baseball cap, royal-blue hoodie and has a feather tattoo behind his right ear. Photos from video surveillance of the store can be viewed on the police department's website at wvpd. ca. Police are asking anyone who recognizes the thieves to contact them.
