Scot, John Carberry has brought the secrets of a 4,000-year-old craft to Corowa Distilling Co.
John Carberry is one of only three known genuine Master Coopers in Australia, specialising in the ancient craft of making and repairing wooden casks, barrels and vats.
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John now calls Corowa home after more than three decades preparing whisky casks for some of Scotland’s best distillers.
Hailing from Stirling in the UK, John brings his unique talents and thick Scottish accent to Australia as Head Cooper for Murray River Cooperage, located on the same site as Corowa Distilling Co.
A third-generation cooper from his grandfather in 1917, John started his apprenticeship in 1989 at Cambus Distillery under the tutelage of his cousin.
“My great-grandfather father came to Scotland from Ireland as a drayman,” John said.
“Back then, the eldest son of a cooper would get the first chance of an apprenticeship over anyone else because they liked to keep things in house and within the family; they knew the job would get done correctly, and there would be a love for the trade and respect for your peers.
“My grandfather taught my uncle, my uncle taught his son, my cousin David, and David taught me.”
Coopering is a more than 4,000-year-old trade that involves shaping curved wooden slats called staves and fitting them tightly together using metal or wooden hoops to make a cask.
In the UK, the coopering industry is governed by the Coopering Federation.
“Because a cask is a food grade vessel, the trade is governed by law,” John said.
“Coopers were protected by the King or Queen because they were integral to the whole structure of society because everything was in a coopered vessel at some point before metal drums came along.
“When I started there was no paper trail whatsoever in the trade.
“For thousands of years it was passed on from one cooper to the next and kept in the head.
“In my indenture papers, it says in the third paragraph, "Thee shall not pass on any of thy master's secrets”, because it was a closed house.
“Nowadays I'm willing to pass it on to anybody who’s willing to try if they can understand my vernacular, being a Scotsman, and keep the trade alive.”
John moved to Australia after accepting an offer from Corowa Distilling Co. via Instagram to cooper for Murray River Cooperage.
At the time he was between jobs for Speyside Cooperage and Yorkshire Cooperage and the Covid pandemic had just hit, so he jumped at the opportunity to teach his trade in a new country.
Government red tape and visas took about two-and-a-half years to get through, but John finally landed in Corowa in early 2024 and started his first apprentice within six months.
John Carberry demonstrates the craft of coopering with Ciaran Quinn who he says is a rare quality of apprentice who thinks outside the box.
“It's very rare that you come across an apprentice so in tune with what I teach,” John said.
“A lot of apprentices have come in that don't cut the level of what we need; coopering is a very fast paced, think on your feet kind of trade.
“But I managed to land a very good apprentice in Ciaran Quinn.
“I’ve taught him everything I know in the coopering industry from Scotland and he's an amazing apprentice; he's the future of this place.”
John said Murray River Cooperage is liaising with TAFE and government to create a training structure with hope that it becomes a recognized trade.
“Because when it comes to any dark spirits, there has to be a cooper somewhere in the structure of the industry,” John said.
“I'm here to pass on my craft to anyone who’s willing to listen.”
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