Royal Mile Whiskies ask for help to find rare bottle of single malt after it was stolen from shop

Royal Mile Whiskies are asking for whisky fans and Edinburgh residents to be on the look out after a rare bottle of single malt was stolen from their store this week.

The bottle [inset] was stolen from the store by two men. Picture: Kim Traynor\CC\cropped

The local firm is urging people to be on the lookout for the bottle of Glen Scotia 45-year-old, which is most importantly numbered 097 out of 150, making it easily identifiable.

A member of staff said that two men, one of whom was bald and had a moustache and the other was wearing a cap with close crop facial hair, were captured by CCTV entering the store on the Royal Mile at around 5:30 pm on Wednesday 5th of February and having a look around before stealing the prize bottle.

They stated that they are working with the local police and have also alerted all auction sites/houses.

The rare bottle of Glen Scotia 45yo with bottle number 097 of 150 was stolen.

A post on the company's Facebook, which was accompanied by CCTV images of the men, read: "This isn't how we wanted to end the working week, but we have some unfortunate news to pass on.

"On Wednesday Feb 5th, the two men in the images below stole a bottle of Glen Scotia 45yo from our Edinburgh shop, bottle number 097 of 150.

"Please be aware these men are obviously professional thieves and could target further businesses."

They added that If anyone should see this bottle, they should let the police or a member of staff know immediately.

The news follows a similar crime at the tail end of last year, where around 50 bottles of "extremely valuable" whisky were stolen from the nearby Whisky Trail shop on the Royal Mile and recent spates of thefts in Speyside in which two men were caught and appeared in court after nearly £9,000 worth of whisky was stolen from shops and distilleries in the area.