"Whether it was the days when you would hit up the upstairs Cook in first year, before going to Tui's and going back to the hall, or just going to see the rugby on a Saturday because Sky was too expensive for the flat and jugs were cheap.
"It's been a stepping stone that has, in its own way, helped the reputation of the university," Mr Hernandez said.
But the closure of the Cook, which follows the closure of other historic student pubs the Gardens Tavern and The Bowler, would not make Dunedin a less attractive place to study, he said.
"Dunedin still has the best campus lifestyle of any university. Otago students are relatable and friendly. It's the people that make Otago, not the pubs."
Dunedin historian and columnist Peter Entwisle, who was a regular at the Cook in the 1960s, said the pub had been the main "student watering hole" since the University of Otago moved to North Dunedin in 1878. He believed the Cook was the longest-serving student pub in New Zealand.
"My first acquaintance with it would be from the early 1960s, about 1962. By that time, it was already well-known as a student watering hole and it had been for a long time."
Mr Entwisle had fond memories of taking part in "somewhat drunken intellectual discussions" at the pub throughout the 1960s.
"You could meet really interesting people in there and have really interesting conversations; you could meet James K Baxter in there in the late 1960s and have a chat with him. It had a real kind of value that set it apart from other pubs."
The main part of the building, which still stands today, was constructed in 1873 and was designed by architect David Ross, who also designed the Dunedin Club.
The publican in the days Mr Entwisle went to the bar was former boxer Phil Ruston, who was "very student-friendly" and was known to lend students money on occasion.
"I can remember hilarious things that happened in the days of six o'clock closing because there was a cop shop just across the street."
At the time, Dunedin was known for its illegal "after hours scene" and on one occasion Mr Ruston hurried all the customers into what was then the bar's yard just before a police raid.
"Anyway, the bar emptied out on to the yard and the cops raided and they couldn't see anyone in the bar, so they went to the yard and there were 100 people holding their jugs looking up at the sky."
All the customers "got done" by police, but Mr Ruston was nice enough to pay everyone's fines.
Mr Entwisle said the bar changed after television screens were installed and it became more difficult to have a conversation.
"I would still go there occasionally ... into the 1980s. But it was no longer an environment to have a drink and a semi-serious conversation."
Otago University head of music and Verlaines frontman Dr Graeme Downes said the Cook, during the 1980s, served as an important venue in the burgeoning Dunedin Sound, with most of the big bands of the era, including his band, the Chills, playing there
"They all cut their teeth at the Empire initially, but the music became so popular the Empire wasn't really big enough anymore."
This meant they shifted to the Cook or the Oriental, which had room for bigger crowds.
"It was vitally important. These bands started and many by their own admission - me included - weren't particularly good at playing. We were pretty raw early on, but the fact that there were so many opportunities to play, everyone just got exponentially better over that period ... and went on to play and record some fairly monumental music," Dr Downes said.
James Arnott, one of the owners of Cook Brothers Bars, which sub-leases the building from DB Breweries and owns the Captain Cook Tavern trademark, said the main reason behind the pub's demise was a rapid change in drinking culture among students over the past five years.
"Students are drinking less regularly and when they are drinking, they are drinking at home and they are buying alcohol from supermarkets," Mr Arnott said.
This, and a rising prevalence of legal and illegal highs, meant that when people did come to the pub, they often were not buying drinks.
"There ... [used to be] four or five big grunty student pubs like the Cook, the Gardies and the Bowler and Two Bears and they have all gone," he said.
Given the drastically changed environment, he was not surprised the building's owners were yet to find someone to take over the lease.
However, he still hoped someone would step in to save the pub and Cook Brothers Bars would be happy to pass on the Captain Cook Tavern trademark to someone interested in taking it on.
Otago University students Tom Lancashire and Sam Cole were the only patrons in the pub when the Otago Daily Times visited on Monday afternoon.
Despite it being the middle of the exam period, the pair were celebrating some unexpectedly good marks with a few jugs.
"I think everyone is pretty gutted that it is closing down. Everyone that I know would always have a good thing to say about their experiences at the Cook," said Mr Cole.
