BUTLER TWP — The case of the $550 bottle of bourbon has been resolved.

Originally charged criminally with selling a bottle of coveted Pappy Van Winkle bourbon, Barry L. McClain, 73, of Lancaster Township instead pleaded guilty to a summary charge of disorderly conduct.

The agreement was worked out Thursday at McClain's scheduled preliminary hearing at the Butler Township office of District Judge Kevin O'Donnell.

The state police's Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement last month accused McClain of selling an undercover officer a 750 ml bottle of Pappy Van Winkle for $550. The alleged sting occurred April 4 at the Home Depot parking lot in Butler Township after the defendant placed an ad on Craigslist for the whiskey — crafted by the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Ky.

Pappy Van Winkle is so sought after among bourbon buffs that some states — including Pennsylvania — hold lotteries to distribute the limited supplies.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board made 2,005 bottles of the hooch available last fall through its Limited-Release Lottery. Bottles go for anywhere between $335 and $385.

Because McClain was not licensed to sell liquor, he wound up being charged with unlawful sale of liquor, an ungraded misdemeanor under state law.

When he was busted, authorities said, he told the undercover officer that he did not know he was breaking the law.

But on Thursday, the officer agreed to withdraw the misdemeanor charge with McClain's guilty plea to the lesser charge.

O'Donnell ordered him to pay a $100 fine and another $167.25 in court costs.

McClain has an unlisted telephone number and could not be reached for comment.

The fate of the confiscated bottle of bourbon was not known.