Tomatin’s cooper named among world’s best with prestigious award win
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Allan Bartlett, Tomatin’s in-house cooper, has been named ‘Cooper of the Year’ at the 2025 Icons of Whisky Awards.
Allan 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.
He previously won ‘Cooper of the Year for Scotland’ in the 2025 Icons of Whisky regional awards, before progressing to take the global title.
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. By bringing barrel repairs in-house, we can closely guard our reputation for quality and work with a wider range of suppliers than most other distilleries.
As well as purchasing casks from cooperages, we also work directly with wineries, breweries and distilleries to source barrels for maturing its exceptional Highland single malt, allowing our expert team to produce a diverse range of whiskies.
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.”
Allan’s parents, Rose and Bruce, also work at Tomatin Distillery which makes this award even more special for the team. They are one of a number of families living on site where multiple generations have worked at the distillery, showcasing the strong sense of community within Tomatin
