Highland cooper named among world’s best with prestigious award win
A member of staff at Tomatin Distillery has been named cooper of the year at the 2025 Icons of Whisky Awards.
Allan Bartlett has been coopering at Tomatin Distillery for 21 years, including five years of training under the distillery’s former head cooper, Iain Duthie, who served for 39 years.
Sign up to receive our free email newsletters
Allan previously won cooper of the year for Scotland in the Icons of Whisky regional awards, before progressing to take the global title.
He is only the third person to take home the prestigious cooper of the year accolade in the 19-year history of the awards, and the second from a Scotch whisky distillery.
As part of his role as Tomatin Distillery’s cooper, Allan is responsible for inspecting each and every cask before it is filled and making repairs when required. In his time at Tomatin Distillery, Allan has worked on more than 37,000 carefully selected casks.
Tomatin is one of just four distilleries in Scotland to have an on-site cooperage. This facility is essential to the distillery’s first-class maturation policy, which begins with the cask.
Allan said: “To be internationally recognised by the Icons of Whisky Awards as a leading figure in the industry is a real privilege, and I’m thrilled to take this award home to Tomatin Distillery. I wouldn’t be here without Iain Duthie, who taught me the tricks of the trade.
“Coopering is a traditional craft which requires care, commitment and skill, taking years to master. I’m proud to play a role in preserving this important part of Scotch whisky heritage at Tomatin.”
