Abbie Jaume: Whisky shouldn’t be putting off female talent
Abbie Jaume discovered her love of whisky in Tasmania, but for the scientist turned distiller, founding a distillery back in England hasn’t protect her from experiencing sexism. It’s partly why she’s donating the first whisky she ever made to the Demeter Collection.
“It was a real shocker.” So says Abbie Jaume, co-founder and head distiller of Yorkshire’s Cooper King Distillery. A qualified scientist, it was only after two careers and during her PhD in Biomedical Science that Jaume realised she didn’t actually see herself in the science industry long-term. “It was a big realisation,” she admits. “Up to that point I’d been really career driven: I’d got this good job, two degrees, and there I was – not happy.”
Meanwhile, her partner Chris was also feeling the itch in his career in architecture. So, without any kids, mortgage or other commitments, they quit their jobs and bought one-way tickets to Australia. It was there that they fell into the Tasmanian whisky industry, inspiring them to build their own independent distillery back home in York, England: Cooper King.
It was all the way back in the first throws of university that Abbie and Chris tried their first single malt together. Fast forward to backpacking in Tassie and Jaume became ‘obsessed’ with what they were trying.
Early signs of entrepreneurship showed: “We heard Sullivan’s Cove had won a big award, so we reached out to Master of Malt and agreed to begin a tour of the eight distilleries, researching for a blog series,” Jaume tells us of their early explorations. “Our job was to visit, ask questions, take pictures. We became enchanted by the people, the whisky.”
English whisky: Yorkshire’s Cooper King Distillery was founded in 2016
It was at the second distillery on the visit that Jaume finally realised what she wanted to change in her career: “I saw someone mashing in at the tun, covered in draff, and I thought: ‘I want your job’.
“I asked how they came to work here and the penny dropped – I reconfigured my entire view of working in this industry.”
After being taught by none other than Bill Lark, founder of Lark Distillery, the couple returned to England and got to work setting up the business, crowdfunding and self-building from an old stable block Jaume’s gran and sisters had had horses in. Production started in 2019.
Facing the fire
Jaume is the first to admit it was a huge learning curve: neither her nor Chris had an idea about startups, funding, finance – all of the things it takes to get a business off the ground. Not to mention cut points, mash temperatures, fermentation length.
Thankfully, Jaume is also a self-confessed ‘sponge for knowledge’ and keen to get stuck into the ‘nitty gritty’.
Now, as head distiller, Jaume is responsible for all of the production at Cooper King – recipe development, NPD and so on - while Chris manages everything else. “I run the production team, but we’re still doing a bit of everything like designing new labels, working on new products. I’m also still doing some of the distillation. We launched our first whisky last year, but only now do we truly understand our spirit and how to control it.”
While Jaume continues to work on mapping out future whiskies, using different wood, casks and yeasts, when it comes to most of the production that can be credited to assistant brewer & distiller, Sophie Pashley.
Cooper King Cask No.1: Inaugral Release from the Founders’ Series, Autumn 2023
When Jaume began working in the whisky industry, she was shocked at how being a women impacted her experiences. “Women are such an integral part of the industry, yet I was surprised by the level of sexism I experienced when I entered the space,” she says.
At tastings or events, when working with Chris and despite Jaume being on the production side, it is often him that they look to for technical questions. She’s also been active in changing stereotypes, contacting educational platforms to un-gender whisky role descriptors.
“I did find it quite shocking and maybe it was being a young woman, but the idea of being a founder was welcomed with open arms in Tasmania. When I came to the UK I did find it a bit of a shock.”
Back in Tasmania, Jaume was lucky to have the likes of Lyn Lark, co-founder of Lark Distillery, as a visible role model to keep her motivated, and it’s something that stuck with her through those early days: “I’m not sure I would have maintained that drive if I wan’t constantly referring back to them.”
Jaume says visibility is important to inspire, but without actual support it’s easy to lack motivation and confidence. “It’s easy to think, ‘maybe this isn’t for me?’ That self doubt sets in and is really disruptive. We’re constantly having to battle that, or are actively put off from progressing. That’s where having women in leadership roles is important.”
‘Graft, grit and determination’: the small but mighty Cooper King Distillery team
These are just some of the reasons why Jaume was keen to support the Demeter Collection. As part of the auction, the team are donating the last remaining bottle of Cooper King Cask No.1: Inaugural Release - the first whisky to be bottled by the distillery. Exclusively made available to founding members in October 2023, bottle 173 of 173 from cask #1 is the only one available to non-founding members.
Distilled in 2019, the whisky was matured in a Tasmanian Apera cask and finished in a Pedro Ximénez Sherry cask. Notes include black tea, poached pear and strawberry bonbon on the nose, followed on the palate by chocolate-coated coffee beans, ginger, treacle and cream soda.
The lot also includes a VIP tour for two with Jaume, plus a private masterclass including cask samples never before tasted by the public. The visit also includes a two-night stay with breakfast in the distillery’s on-site 5*-rated AirBnB.
The Demeter Collection
The whisky marks a major career moment for Jaume. “It commemorates 10 years of graft, grit and determination - I feel really proud.”
The whisky was mashed, fermented and distilled by Jaume - the first she ever made. “This whisky is a culmination of all my passions. It’s an honour as a woman in the industry to be a part of this auction”.
For Jaume, taking part in the Demeter Collection is her way of continuing to support women in the whisky industry while also being vocal about the changes that still need to happen. “Some people think it isn’t really a thing anymore, or they’re just bored of the conversation,” she explains. “But just because they’ve overcome their setbacks, doesn’t mean that’s true for everyone else.
“There’s no point pretending that there isn’t still an issue and it is dangerous to deny that gender bias exists. We can’t until things change, like until women make up 50% of audiences at whisky shows. I’m still experiencing sexism and I shouldn’t be.”
Most damaging, she thinks, is the danger that by not addressing these issues, new women will be put off coming into the industry. “Seeing young, talented, passionate people in the whisky industry who almost didn’t go down that career path because someone put them off? That should not be happening.”
Jaume’s seen first-hand how the OurWhisky Foundation can impact women’s careers, having been a mentor for the Mentorship Programme. To see the change that has had on her mentee in the workplace just with Jaume being there with the support ‘has been incredible’.
She sees the Foundation as a ‘power catalyst of change’. And she’s thrilled to be involved in it: “I’m so glad it exists and I’m so proud to play a part and help passionate individuals reach career goals in whisky.”
The Demeter Collection auction will run 29 March - 8 April 2024 at whiskyauctioneer.com.
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