When John Neilly was serving his apprenticeship as a cooper in a Glasgow distillery, the foreman had one way of ensuring that no one was ever late in the morning.
“You got a dram at 7.45am... to get you in on time,” laughs John, explaining that further measures of whiskey were distributed at 10am, 12, 2pm and 4.30pm.
Thirsty work so – and it’s stories like this that John is sure to share at the Alltech Craft Brews & Food Fair in Dublin next weekend, where he will demonstrate the lost art of cooperage; the very trade he has devoted 50 years of his life to and that he continues to practice as master cooper with Nephin Irish Whiskey.
John was 15 when he left school to start his pre-apprenticeship with John & Robt Harvey’s Cooperage in Port Dundas, Glasgow, in 1966.
“My father was a cooper and my great-grandfather came from Donegal, he emigrated to Scotland and the tradition was passed on,” he says.
His first roles included painting barrels, loading lorries and making new heads for the casks, before his father signed his paper for his five-year apprenticeship, during which he learned all aspects of the trade, from making one-litre to nine-gallon pins and firkins to repairing butts and hogheads, earning £3 and 10 shillings in his first pay packet.
Though, when he qualified at 21 he had to take part in an initiation ceremony known as “trussing the apprentice”. This is where he was dumped in a 500-litre sherry butte and rolled round in wood shavings and paxarette (concentrated sherry) before being washed down in the canal by his fellow coopers.
“And for that privilege, I had to supply them with drink,” laughs John.
After qualifying, John worked in various distilleries around Scotland as a “journey man” cooper.
But in 1990, he moved to Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath, where the Cooley Distillery established their own cooperage. John worked there right up until 2012, when Jim Beam bought over Cooley. But he soon found that early retirement did not suit him.
“That summer, we had the good sunshine and I bought myself a bike and I went cycling. But as soon as the winter came I got bored,” he says, explaining that he approached the local enterprise board to start his own business, making ornamental casks and working with the local craft distilleries that were starting to pop up around that time and needed his skills.
And one of those distilleries was Nephin Irish Whiskey in Co Mayo, who invited John to come on board as their master cooper.
He now works out of the Nephin Cooperage – which, like John, is actually based, in Kilbeggan – and still uses traditional methods, such as rush grasses for sealing the casks. Visitors are welcome and he will soon start training a new apprentice.
Next weekend, he will be sharing all the tricks of the trade at the Alltech Craft Brews & Food Fair in Dublin – though these days, a dram has no place in the working day.
“I wait until the weekend to have my dram,” laughs John. “I need a clear head.”
Nephin Cooperage, Relic Rd, Kilbegan, Co Westmeath. Open 10am-1pm and 2pm-4pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. For further information, visit http://nephinwhiskey.com/nephin-cooperage
Meet John At The Alltech
Craft Brews & Food Fair
John Neilly will be demonstrating the art of cooperage at the entrance to the Alltech Craft Brews & Food Fair, which takes place in the Convention Centre, Dublin, from Friday 5 February to Sunday 7 February. The three-day event will host more than 50 Irish and international breweries, cider producers, distilleries and craft brew distributors who will be sampling in excess of 300 craft brews from all over the world, including many seasonal and one-off brews created just for the event.
Last year, more than 10,000 people attended the event, which will also offer a selection of the best of Irish foods, including cheese and baked goods and hot food options such as pies and crêpes. A key feature this year will be an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the “Largest Beer Tasting” gathering, a record currently set in Mexico in November 2014.
Day tickets can be purchased in advance for €16.50 including two tokens and a souvenir glass, while tickets purchased on the door are €20. Visit http://eu.alltechbrewsandfood.com
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