Born on August 9, 1939, a few weeks before the outbreak of World War II, John Norman Cooper’s life began in Chase-side nursing home, Southgate, just north of London. His early years were spent attending primary schools in Botany Bay, a village outside Enfield, de Bohun school, Southgate, and later Enfield Grammar School.

In 1956, John, as a teenager, became an immigrant seeking adventure in Australia. There, he worked as a Jackaroo on farms in New South Wales and South Australia, experiencing the rugged beauty of the Australian Outback.

Returning to the UK in 1960, John joined the British Army and became a land surveyor. Subsequently, he worked in various locations, including Tees-side and South Wales. In 1965, he obtained survey work for governments in Zambia and Swaziland. And in 1966, he got married, began a family, raising five children.

Later, John studied at Liverpool University, eventually completing PhD courses at both Aberdeen University and Strathclyde University. The following decades saw John working as a biochemist in the laboratories of single-malt whisky distilleries, Tamdhu and Highland Park in Northern Scotland, where he further explored his fascination for ‘spirit.’