GER BUCKLEY
MASTER COOPER, IRISH DISTILLERS
How did you come to work for Pernod Ricard?
Five generations of my family have worked in coopering for Midleton Distillery, stretching back 200 years. You could say it was in the blood. I applied for an apprenticeship under my father and it turned out to be the one and only job interview I have ever done! I must confess, I wasn’t really sure that it was what I wanted to do. Back then you were lucky to have any job. But now I can say I’m lucky to have this job, which I truly love. One that honours this family and whiskey tradition.
You must have seen a lot of changes in 50 years. What has changed most?
The biggest change came when Irish Distillers became part of Pernod Ricard. I remember a time when you would never see Irish whiskey on the shelves in the U.S., or anywhere abroad. Throughout the 80s, times were tough – people forget that Irish whiskey was under pressure back then. It’s no exaggeration to say that Pernod Ricard saved Irish whiskey. We had never sold a single bottle of whiskey in Italy up until that point. Then, almost overnight, you could find Jameson anywhere across the globe. I knew then that our future was in safe hands.
Midleton Distillery, Cork, Ireland
Oh my God, that’s just exactly what we are trying to create: that conviviality where you just sit down, mad in love, just enjoying a Jameson. It’s really that simple.”
What hasn’t changed as much?
My job effectively involves doing the same thing my dad taught me, and his father taught him. Coopering doesn’t change that much. I’m repairing and occasionally making barrels to mature the whiskey in the same way as my ancestors using my grandfather’s 140-year-old tools! And yet I’m still learning. From travelling to different countries to learning about different approaches, collaborating with different teams and even experimenting with new types of wood.
What are your proudest moments?
Having the chance to train apprentices to preserve the traditions. There’s such a rich heritage that I am proud to have been part of, and proud to be able to hand over what I have learned over 50 years to the next generation and know it will continue. But also restoring something that had died out. I recently collaborated on a project where we used Irish Oak. No one had used this wood in casking for over a century, but we brought it back with Midleton Very Rare Dair Ghaelach Whiskey. Even within the unchanging world of my cooperage, I’m still on a journey.
What does conviviality mean to you?
I’ll tell you by sharing an anecdote from my travels. I was visiting the Philippines, and noticed a young couple just sat down with a Jameson on one of those bean bags for like two or three hours. I took a picture of them, and I said, “Oh my God, that’s just exactly what we are trying to create: that conviviality where you just sit down, mad in love, just enjoying a Jameson. It’s really that simple”.