Ger is just one of two Coopers remaining in Ireland and is located at the Midleton Distillery in Cork. He has an unwavering passion for his craft, having completed his apprenticeship at a young age under the tutelage of his father and is now nearing his 40th anniversary with Jameson.
Despite the fact that the majority of Jameson's barrels are made in Kentucky, Ger is still responsible for overseeing their production and ensuring that all 1.4 million (approx.) that exist at the distillery today maintain the highest standards. In fact, most of Jameson's barrels once they have been used by the distillery are sold on to spirits producers across the globe, renowned for their flawless quality.
Every barrel must be perfect according to Ger, who explained his role and the influence of wood in whiskey during a live deconstruction of a barrel with trade in Sydney.
"For me as a cooper, it's all about making barrels. When we choose our oak, we are looking for the perfect beam of oak; there must be no defects whatsoever. Any defects in the wood and the barrel could leak," Ger explained.
"The standard of oak we buy for coopering is the highest you can buy. We pay the most for the oak because it's such a high standard."
Jameson uses American oak, as well as sherry and pinot casks from Spain and France. Irish oak is rarely used due to its limited availability and separated grain, which is more likely to let the whiskey pass through.
Ger said, "American oak is very tight because of the heat - during the warm summers the wood in the tree contracts. This tightness brings a lot of sweetness, vanilla, and caramel flavours. With Spanish and French oak, you get a lot of dark fruits such as plums, nectarines, and raisins.
"With the different types of oak you get different flavour profiles and the more time you leave your whiskey in the barrel, the more flavour influence you're going to get. On an aged whiskey for example, between 50-70 per cent of the flavour can come from the oak.
"So when we're ageing whiskey in the barrel, we're not doing it for fun, we're really doing it to get that oak influence into the whiskey."
As well as the new Jameson Black Barrel and Whiskey Maker's Series releases, Ger was also involved in a local and innovative partnership with the Young Henrys brewery during his visit to Australia. The partnership was the result of a limited edition Irish Red Ale aged in Jameson Irish Whiskey casks, appealing to both lovers of bold brews and quality spirits and highlighting the myriad of flavour profiles that can be achieved with the influence of oak. This was inspired by Jameson Caskmates, a one-of-a-kind whiskey finished in craft stout beer barrels from the Franciscan Well Brewery, also in Cork. The final product, Young Henrys Craic & Barrel, is currently available at the brewery, but only 2000L are available.
Jameson Black Barrel
Jameson Black Barrel is a triple distilled blend of 'small batch' grain and traditional single pot still Irish whiskey, which is distilled just once a year at Midleton and matured in a combination of American oak, sherry casks, and double-charred bourbon barrels.
Jameson Black Barrel is a tribute to the cooper’s method of charring barrels - a traditional method used to invigorate barrels when the famous Irish weather wasn’t too kind to the barrels. Charring was said to ‘bring the wood back to life’. Although today at Midleton double charred barrels are used by choice rather than through necessity. Time spent maturing in these barrels imparts the whiskey with intensified notes of vanilla sweetness and caramel, alongside toasted wood, fruit, and warm spice.
Whiskey Makers Series
The Whiskey Makers Series is comprised of three whiskeys that celebrate the people behind Jameson today and their craft: The Distiller’s Safe, The Cooper’s Croze and The Blender’s Dog. Created collaboratively by Head Cooper, Ger Buckley; Jameson Head Distiller, Brian Nation; and Head Blender, Billy Leighton, the range gives Midleton’s craftspeople a unique opportunity to shine a light on their individual areas of expertise.
The Cooper’s Croze showcases the role of Jameson’s Head Cooper, Ger Buckley, and explores the influence that maturation in casks has on whiskey. A fifth generation cooper, Ger has a deep relationship with wood and is tasked with selecting, repairing and maintaining Midleton’s diverse and treasured barrels. Ger’s prized possession – a croze – passed down through his family, is used to make the groove where the head of the cask is positioned. The resulting blended whiskey is matured in virgin American oak barrels, seasoned bourbon barrels and Iberian sherry casks, a combination that delivers vanilla sweetness, rich fruit flavours, and a balance of floral and spice notes.
All products are available from Pernod Ricard Australia.
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