The Thinking Drinkers Podcast

Ben McFarland, Tom Sandham
  • 5.0 (2)
  • FOOD
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

No matter what day of the year it is, there is always a compelling reason to enjoy a discerning drink. Responsibly of course. This hilarious, eclectic and erudite elbow-bending adventure through the calendar reveals what you should be drinking this week - and a fascinating and compelling reason to drink it. Hosts Ben McFarland & Tom Sandham, aka The Thinking Drinkers, have deftly decanted 40 years of unwavering dedication to awesome alcohol into a podcast that will broaden your booze horizons and make you seem even more interesting than you already are. Steeped in eccentric events, fascinating facts and with all the cocktail recipes and recommendations a thirsty gastronome requires, this pod arms people with essential, some would say useless, anecdotal ammunition with which to impress your mates over a drink...or two.

  1. 03/09/2023

    "I asked for ice, but this is ridiculous."

    Hotel, Motel, Is That Your Foreskin? This week's pod recalls Tom's unfortunate and minor (very minor) costume malfunction on stage at the Alnwick Playhouse before raising a Rob Roy in memory of the Waldorf Astoria and exploring the ale-loving entrepreneur who invented Cat's Eyes.  Get your Worthington White Shield here: £3.59 from Beers of Europe Rob Roy 50 ml Scotch Whisky, 20 ml Sweet Red Vermouth, dash Angostura Bitters. How To make a Rob Roy. Stir ingredients over ice in a mixing glass    Discerning Drinks Deals Of The Week Waitrose, Kyro Gin, £25, £4.95 off,  Sainsburys, Cardhu Gold Reserve Single Malt Scotch £26 down from £401000 Stories Bourbon-Aged Zinfandel £12 down from £15 Master of Malt: Silent Pool Gift Pack for Mother's Day. £55 down from £65. Other StuffBuy yourself or someone else annual membership (and a signed copy of our award-winning Thinking Drinkers Almanac Book) for just £120 here.  3 x 60ml pouches containing 3 x world class spirits delivered direct through your door every month.Exclusive access to the TD online magazineA signed copy of Thinking Drinkers Almanac (named Drinks Book of the Year 2021 by The Sunday Times)Monthly Online Tastings with The Thinking Drinkers & GuestsCheck out dates and tickets for our "Thinking Drinkers Pub Quiz" show, featuring lots of laughs and FIVE free drinks for every audience member, here:  OldhamAUSTRIAN ALPS: ALTITUDE COMEDY FESTIVALBrightonBedfordReading DidcotStroudLeicesterCorby

    51 min

  2. 03/02/2023

    Public Enemas & Jiggers With Altitude

    This week, we hark back to the halcyon days when strangers blew smoke up the bottoms of wet people  and, in the whining words of Liam Gallagher, things get supersonic with a gin and tonic as we celebrate the birth of Concorde.  Oaxaca Old Fashioned (created by Phil Ward in New York) 40ml Fortaleza Reposado Tequila  12.5ml Lost Explorer Mezcal 1 barspoon agave nectar 2 dashes Angostura bitters Garnish: orange twist Method: Set the orange peel to one side before bringing all the ingredients in a glass (Old Fashioned) containing a large ice cube. Stir until chilled. Flame an orange twist over the surface of the drink. Discerning Drinks Deals Of The Week MajesticChanoine Frères 'Réserve Privée' Brut Champagne - £20 OFFBeronia Rioja Gran Reserva 2013/15 - 8 quid off.Definition English Sparkling Brut, Hampshire - 11 quid off. Lanson Le Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne - £20 off Whiskey ExchangeFortaleza Blanco Tequila with a case of London Essence Pomelo and Pink Pepper Tonic - £62.75ASDA GIN OF THE WEEK  Asda, Plymouth Gin, £20, save a fiver,  Waitrose Wine: Terre di Vita Organic Pinot Grigio Terre Siciliane £6.49 - down from £8.99,  Mimo Moutinho Dão Red Wine, Aldi, £5.79    Become a reviewer for the Aldi Wine Club - click here Are you a wine enthusiast? Do you have a nose for aromas and impeccable tastebuds? Or simply want the opportunity to try some FREE wines?    We are looking for thirty vino-loving superstars to make up our latest Aldi Wine Club panel – an exclusive group of Aldi shoppers with a passion for wine.    As an Aldi Wine Club member, you will have the opportunity to trial delicious and award-winning wines, including new launches from Aldi’s Spring Summer range, without spending a penny.    All you’ll be tasked with is reviewing each wine via a 140-character tweet or Instagram post using the dedicated #AldiWineClub hashtag– it’s as simple as that!     Applications now open until 13th March! To apply to the Aldi wine tasting opportunity, shoppers simply need to send an email to Aldiwineclub@clarioncomms.co.uk with the below details:  • Full name  • Proof of age  • The name of your social media handles and the number of followers for each account  • 150 words explaining why you think you should be selected as an Aldi Wine Club member  • What your favourite wine is and why    Other StuffBuy yourself or someone else annual membership (and a signed copy of our award-winning Thinking Drinkers Almanac Book) for just £120 here.  3 x 60ml pouches containing 3 x world class spirits delivered direct through your door every month.Exclusive access to the TD online magazineA signed copy of Thinking Drinkers Almanac (named Drinks Book of the Year 2021 by The Sunday Times)Monthly Online Tastings with The Thinking Drinkers & GuestsCheck out dates and tickets for our "Thinking Drinkers Pub Quiz" show, featuring lots of laughs and FIVE free drinks for every audience member, here:  NorthallertonAlnwickOldhamBrightonBedfordReading DidcotStroudLeicesterCorby

    58 min

  3. 02/23/2023

    Bananas & Pigs

    After a week off, the hardest working beefcakes in the drinks business slide back into the Pod saddle, digging their heels into some hard-nosed aural journalism and whipping up some searing investigative insight - namely the return of bananas to the UK in 1945 and. of course, National Pig Day (only America). Like beer? Like bananas? Well you'll flipping love Mongozo Banana Beer - available here or via Amazon here And how about A Pigs In Blanket Old Fashioned? Pigs in Blanket Old Fashioned Ingredients 12 pigs in blanket 70cl of Pork fat-washed whisky  5ml Maple syrup 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters To make the fat-wash whisky  ·       Grill the pigs in blanket over a baking tray and collect 30ml of the fat.  ·       Strain it into a container filled with 70cl of blended Scotch whisky. Leave it to steep in the whisky for 6-8 hours or overnight at room temperature before placing the bottle in the freezer. ·       Once the fat has congealed in the bottle, strain the bourbon into a new bottle. Method: ·       Take 40 ml pigs-in-blanket fat-infused whisky and stir in a mixing glass with the maple syrup and ice. ·       Add bitters and stir.  ·       Strain into a child ‘Old Fashioned’ glass filled with ice. Garnish with an orange slice.. Or a pig-in-blanket While you're waiting for the pig fat to steep in the whisky, here's a video about pigs that play video games. Drinks Deals Of The WeekMirabeau La Folie Sparkling Rose - down £3 to £11 at SainsburysJohnnie Walker Black Label - Sainsbury, £22, save £10,  Martini Rosso, only £2.50 off, but down to £8 at Waitrose,Jameson Orange, £15, save £9.50, great in an alternative to the Irish Espresso Martini Waitrose  For gin fans, Hayman’s London Dry Gin, fiver off, £21 Waitrose Keep your eye out for the new Luxardo Espresso Liqueur _____________________________ Buy yourself or someone else annual membership (and a signed copy of our award-winning Thinking Drinkers Almanac Book) for just £120 here.  3 x 60ml pouches containing 3 x world class spirits delivered direct through your door every month.Exclusive access to the TD online magazineA signed copy of Thinking Drinkers Almanac (named Drinks Book of the Year 2021 by The Sunday Times)Monthly Online Tastings with The Thinking Drinkers & GuestsCheck out dates and tickets for our "Thinking Drinkers Pub Quiz" show, featuring lots of laughs and FIVE free drinks for evewry audience member, here:  HarpendenNorthallertonAlnwickOldhamBrightonBedfordReading DidcotStroudLeicesterCorby

    50 min

  4. 02/09/2023

    It's Not Gonna Shuck Itself Is It?

    If drink-soaked discussion of aphrodisiacal accompaniments to oysters, 'titanic plums', guinea pigs with dodgy fivers, hangover cures and some seriously decent discounted drinks are your thing then listen to this Valentine's Special featuring a boffin. VALENTINE DRINKSThe Properly Dangerous Liason Ingredients45ml Brockmans Gin75ml Taittinger Champagne or Sparkling Wine15ml Fresh Lemon Juice10ml Creme de Cassis5ml Sugar SyrupMethod – Combine all ingredients apart from the sparkling wine and creme de cassis in a shaker over ice– Shake to combine, double strain into a champagne flute and– Top with Champagne, then drizzle over the creme de cassis.– Garnish with a lemon twist. Chilean Red Wine: Errazuriz Max Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon – £12.99, Waitrose Chargrilled asparagus with Westmalle Tripel – £4.20 from Beer MerchantsOysters with Titanic Plum Porter – £1.80, Sainsbury’s Discerning Drinks DealsAperol, Morrisons, reduced from £20 to £15.99,   Morrisons, Courvoisier VSOP, £29.99, down from £37,  Gin deal of the week, Sainsbury, 1l of Tanqueray, £20,   Asda Beer Deals  You can get two packs for a tenner on certain beers.  So 4xJaipur and 6x Pilsner Urquell for £10.  That’s a tenner for 10 quality beers, so that makes them £1 each. Some maths for you.  _____________________________ Buy yourself or someone else annual membership (and a signed copy of our award-winning Thinking Drinkers Almanac Book) for just £120 here.  3 x 60ml pouches containing 3 x world class spirits delivered direct through your door every month.Exclusive access to the TD online magazineA signed copy of Thinking Drinkers Almanac (named Drinks Book of the Year 2021 by The Sunday Times)Monthly Online Tastings with The Thinking Drinkers & GuestsCheck out dates and tickets for our "Thinking Drinkers Pub Quiz" show, featuring lots of laughs and FIVE free drinks for evewry audience member, here:  London Leicester Square (THURSDAY 9th Feb)HarpendenNorthallertonAlnwickPendleOldhamBrightonBedfordReading DidcotStroudLeicesterCorby

    44 min

  5. 02/02/2023

    Ryan Reynolds & The Vagina Museum

    We tell the WWII story behind Whisky Galore before linking a classic gin cocktail to a tale of someone knocking a vase over. You should listen. The Ola Dubh range is available from The Whiskey Exchange Sainsbury has its Villa Maria on at £8.75, down from a tenner,   Jameson is £19 down from £22.50,     Gin deal of the week, Asda and Waitrose are going at it in their bid to bring you the best price on Tanqueray TenWaitrose, £27,  Aviation Cocktail 60ml gin 15ml Maraschino Liqueur 10ml Créme De Violette  25ml Lemon Juice  Lemon zest, to garnish  Shake gin, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur and crème de violette over ice,  Taste, then add a splash of chilled water to dilute, if you like. Strain into four chilled cocktail glasses and garnish with blueberries and lemon zest. Buy yourself or someone else annual membership (and a signed copy of our award-winning Thinking Drinkers Almanac Book) for just £120 here.  3 x 60ml pouches containing 3 x world class spirits delivered direct through your door every month.Exclusive access to the TD online magazineA signed copy of Thinking Drinkers Almanac (named Drinks Book of the Year 2021 by The Sunday Times)Monthly Online Tastings with The Thinking Drinkers & GuestsCheck out dates and tickets for our "Thinking Drinkers Pub Quiz" show, featuring lots of laughs and FIVE free drinks for evewry audience member, here:  Nottingham - 241 tickets use the word DRINKERLondon Leicester SquareHarpendenNorthallertonAlnwickPendleOldhamBrightonBedfordReading DidcotStroudLeicesterCorby

    51 min

  6. 01/26/2023

    Got 99 Problems But a Bee's Not One

    Hail Henry VIII's death with Tynt Meadow - the only Trappist Beer in Britain.  Read Mark Dredge's great article about the monastery in Good Beer Hunting here:  Watch the documentary "Outside City"  - all about the realities of the modern-day Monky business here. AA Milne & The Bee's Knees CocktailGet Hiver Blonde Beer from Waitrose here Bee's Knees Cocktail Ingredients 2 teaspoons of honey50ml Portobello Gin25ml Lemon JuiceIceMethod: Loosen up the honey in a jug by stirring it with a little bit of freshly boiled water. When it's smooth, add the mixture to a shaker filled with plenty of ice, the lemon juice and the gin. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with some lemon zest.  This week's "Les Bargains" Benriach The Original Ten Speyside Single Malt Scotch, £29 Waitrose (save £9)Sweet and easy-drinking intro into whisky. Balblair 15 Year Old, Whisky exchange, £64.95 (£13 off)A bit more punchy, 46%, full-bodied, matured in ex-bourbon casks and finished in first-fill Spanish oak butts. Vestal Kaszebe 2011 Vintage Vodka, Whisky Exchange at £21.95 (£8 off)The potatoes used as the based for this vodka are the Vineta varietal and are all grown in the Kaszebe region of central northern Poland. Absolute, £16, AsdaGreat vodka for mixed drinks and recreating the scene in Wolf of Wall Street Heineken 0,0, 6xcans for £4.50, Sainsburys doing Bacardi Carta Blanca for £14, £2 off.Makes a wicked daiquiri, 700ml bottle, 50ml per daiquiri, how many can you make? You do the math. ________________________________ Buy yourself or someone else annual membership (and a signed copy of our award-winning Thinking Drinkers Almanac Book) for just £120 here.  3 x 60ml pouches containing 3 x world class spirits delivered direct through your door every month.Exclusive access to the TD online magazineA signed copy of Thinking Drinkers Almanac (named Drinks Book of the Year 2021 by The Sunday Times)Monthly Online Tastings with The Thinking Drinkers & GuestsCheck out dates and tickets for our "Thinking Drinkers Pub Quiz" show, featuring lots of laughs and FIVE free drinks for evewry audience member, here:  Nottingham - 241 tickets use the word DRINKERLondon Leicester SquareHarpendenNorthallertonAlnwickPendleOldhamBrightonBedfordReading DidcotStroudLeicesterCorby

    52 min

  7. 01/19/2023

    Nine Inch Burns & Belgian Crack

    This week, following our inaugural appearance on "This Morning", our pod adopts an alternative approach to Burns Night and solves a mystery for those looking to drink something in honour of Hercule Poirot. Burns Night is coming. Let's face it, if it wasn’t in January, no-one would take any notice. But after 25 moribund days of ‘meh’, celebrating the birthday of an 18th century tax collector with some root vegetables and stomach stuffed with bits of sheep sounds like a brilliant night out.  It’s not. A clichéd caricature of Scottish-ness, it’s tediously quaint, painfully kitsch and all those endless Immortal Memories, those cheesy Addresses to the Lassies; the dreary drone of the bagpipes would have bored the life out of the real Robert Burns. So we suggest some alcoholic alternatives to breathe life back into Burns Night including: Harviestoun Ola Dubh - you can get it the three different expressions, here. Braemble gin Liqueur - Scottish blackberry with English London Dry Gin. £24.89 Master of Malt  The Long Bramble 25ml liqueur 100ml ginger ale or tonic Pour the bramble over ice, in a highball, top with ginger ale, garnish with a wedge of lime, squeeze it in first Cross Brew coffee liqueur, £25.74 Master of Malt Cross Brew Negroni 20ml Cross Brew 30ml Campari 30ml Punt e Mes Stir over ice and strain into rocks glass with ice Whisky Deals Mortlach 15 YO for £87.95 Whisky Exchange – saving £32.05  Aberlour 14-Year-Old Single Malt Whisky, £46 Waitrose - save £10  Cardhu, £26, Sainsburys - was £40 Woven Whisky, Experience N.11, Peachy, £55   POIROTAnd then we celebrate a lesser-known milestone - the 103rd anniversary of the first ever Hercule Poirot novel - and honour the  "detestable, bombastic, tiresome,egocentric little creep" with a superb Belgian stout. Get Hercule Stout here ________________________________ Buy yourself or someone else annual membership (and a signed copy of our award-winning Thinking Drinkers Almanac Book) for just £120 here.  3 x 60ml pouches containing 3 x world class spirits delivered direct through your door every month.Exclusive access to the TD online magazineA signed copy of Thinking Drinkers Almanac (named Drinks Book of the Year 2021 by The Sunday Times)Monthly Online Tastings with The Thinking Drinkers & GuestsCheck out dates and tickets for our "Thinking Drinkers Pub Quiz" show, featuring lots of laughs and FIVE free drinks for evewry audience member, here:  Nottingham - 241 tickets use the word DRINKERLondon Leicester SquareHarpendenNorthallertonAlnwickPendleOldhamBrightonBedfordReading DidcotStroudLeicesterCorby

    45 min

  8. 01/12/2023

    Prince Harry & Dumbo

    Amid all this talk of Harry and Meghan, we explore Edward VII, aka "Dirty Bertie"  - the original Playboy Prince with some cracking King's Ginger liqueur. Then, having once again proven that #winewritingiswelleasy, we make ourselves a Bicicletta for birthday boy and Pirate peddler Marco Pantani. If you'd like to see Edward VII's 's3x chair' (and why wouldn't you?) then click here. Amazon is offering a great deal on King's Ginger, complete with swanky gift tin, for just £23 here. You're welcome. King's Mulled Cider50ml The King's Ginger150ml Cider150ml Apple juiceServe in a handled glass, hot or over ice.Garnish with lemon, cinnamon stick and fresh blackberries. Marco Pantani Here's the picture of Marco shaking an Italian policeman's hand after some rather ripe parking manouevres and here's a picture of his statue in Northern Italy. For Campari, the best price is at Morrisons, £15.50 - click here     The Bicicletta  50ml Campari 75ml White wine Soda Water Built over ice, use a wine glass or a highball glass    Other Royal Drinks: King Charles's Royal Lochnagar 12 year old, Whisky Exchange, £40.95    Megan Markle's Tignanello 2018 can be found at Fine Wine Direct for £180   Buy yourself or someone else annual membership (and a signed copy of our award-winning Thinking Drinkers Almanac Book) for just £120 here.  3 x 60ml pouches containing 3 x world class spirits delivered direct through your door every month.Exclusive access to the TD online magazineA signed copy of Thinking Drinkers Almanac (named Drinks Book of the Year 2021 by The Sunday Times)Monthly Online Tastings with The Thinking Drinkers & GuestsCheck out dates and tickets for our "Thinking Drinkers Pub Quiz" show, featuring lots of laughs and FIVE free drinks for evewry audience member, here:  Nottingham London Leicester SquareHarpendenNorthallertonAlnwickPendleOldhamBrightonBedfordReading DidcotStroudLeicesterCorby

    57 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

No matter what day of the year it is, there is always a compelling reason to enjoy a discerning drink. Responsibly of course. This hilarious, eclectic and erudite elbow-bending adventure through the calendar reveals what you should be drinking this week - and a fascinating and compelling reason to drink it. Hosts Ben McFarland & Tom Sandham, aka The Thinking Drinkers, have deftly decanted 40 years of unwavering dedication to awesome alcohol into a podcast that will broaden your booze horizons and make you seem even more interesting than you already are. Steeped in eccentric events, fascinating facts and with all the cocktail recipes and recommendations a thirsty gastronome requires, this pod arms people with essential, some would say useless, anecdotal ammunition with which to impress your mates over a drink...or two.

Information

  • Creator
    Ben McFarland, Tom Sandham
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2023
  • Episodes
    59
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2022 Ben McFarland, Tom Sandham
  • Show Website
    The Thinking Drinkers Podcast