Meet The Maker - The Cooper2:45
‘Nae coopers, nae whisky’ – it might sound like a bold statement from Darren Morrison, cooperage foreman at Speyside Cooperage, but the role of the cooper is one of the most important steps in whisky production. After all, it’s a cooper’s job to carefully restore the oak casks, ready to be filled with the distilled spirit that, once matured within the cask, will become fine Scotch whisky.
It takes four years of apprenticeship training to become a cooper. Repairing casks for a distillery is a highly skilled, hands-on job, with coopers using specialist, traditional tools and working with wood. The process of repairing a cask involves brushing and inspecting, mending, charring and steaming. Not only does a cooper want to ensure the cask will hold liquid, but also that the pores of the wood have been broken into so that the whisky can develop its flavour. It’s ultimately true craftsmanship at its finest!
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