The Thinking Drinkers
Published: Friday 3rd February 2023
It was the first of times, it was the worst of times. Or indeed, the thirst of times - this week it's a special FGWG with The Thinking Drinkers - Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham - the erudite tipple experts who are back on tour, beginning in Nottingham, tonight.
"Thinking Drinkers Pub Quiz is the latest incarnation of our unique drinks tasting show which we've been performing since 2011," the duo explain. "The idea emerged, like all great ideas, over a pint in the pub. Disillusioned with both dull online Zoom quizzes during the pandemic and pub quizzes in our local where the same group of bores win the prize every week, we decided to create a pub quiz that was unique.
"Firstly, we're not in a pub - we're in a comedy club or theatre. Secondly, unlike traditional pub quizzes, you don't need any general knowledge whatsoever - because all the answers to all the questions are given to the audience by us whilst we're up there on stage. All you need to do is listen, laugh, enjoy the five free drinks we give you - and scribble down the answers on a quiz sheet using a complimentary Thinking Drinkers 'bookies' pen which you can take home with you. You guys are so lucky.
"After each show, we tot up all the answers to see who has won and place them in a draw to win the grand tour prize. And then we pick one entry at random, regardless of whether they answered any of the questions correctly, and give them a prize too. So even if you're a bit thick you can still win."
Questions include "the beer-fuelled mating habits of German butterflies, Argentinian ducks with a corkscrew-shaped dong and the alternating hairstyles of Russian leaders," plus lubrication, dancing, and "some mild yet gratuitous nudity."
We know what five beverages they're serving too, which sound pretty lush. But now goodness and less-goodness, as we attempt the first ever First Drink, Worst Drink.
The first booze you remember?
Tom: Those stubby bottles of French lager. Refreshing and, after one bottle, it improved my ping-pong. After three, things went to shit.
Ben: Schnapps whilst on holiday in Sweden when I was five. I thought it was water. It wasn't. But it paired perfectly with pickled herring.
Favourite drink, ever?
A cold beer after we cycled up Mont Ventoux last Summer. Imagine the scene in Ice Cold in Alex but we're wearing ill-fitting Lycra.
Worst drink?
You can always enjoy a drink if you try hard enough.
Which one person influenced your live career most significantly?
Having never been on stage before, we turned up at the Edinburgh Fringe back in 2011 and saw some amazing acts; Nick Helm, John Kearns, Tony Law, Sam Simmons, Hans Teeuwen and, let's not forget, the Ladyboys of Bangkok. They have all been an inspiration ever since.
And who's the most disagreeable person you've come across in the business?
Don't tell anybody but we shared a changing room with Basil Brush in 2019. Massive bell-end. He's not even a real fox.
Is there a drink you love, that other people really don't?
Mezcal is very misunderstood - but one we're really enjoying at the moment. Like a great album or novel, the 'rustic' agave spirit doesn't reveal its greatness and complexity until you commit to it.
Any interesting audience responses to the drinks you serve in the shows?
A lot of people come up to us afterwards and say they didn't believe that, during the show, they'd be getting five fantastic drinks for free. It'd be pretty ballsy of us to lie about it.
Otherwise, the complimentary drinks tend to elicit elbow-bending enlightenment, an alcohol-inspired epiphany and the realisation that, until they were lucky enough to buy a ticket to our show, they'd been drinking in a fool's paradise.
Do theatres ever worry about you affecting their drink sales?
Yes, sometimes. But they needn't worry. Because the complimentary drinks never cannibalise interval drinks - if anything, the bar takes in theatres when we're performing far exceed those of other shows - and they've got the receipts to prove it.
Our audience tend to be up for a good night and, given the absurdly reasonable ticket price, are happy to splash the cash at the bar.
But we certainly don't condone irresponsible consumption of alcohol. The Thinking Drinkers mantra is "Drink Less, Drink Better".
What are your plans for the rest of 2023, tour aside?
We're off to the Altitude Comedy Festival in Austria in April, which we're very excited about. Otherwise, we're building our super-duper Spirits Subscription Club, recording our weekly Thinking Drinkers Podcast and carrying on our selfless work at the dolphin orphanage.
The Thinking Drinkers' Pub Quiz is touring now, for details visit thinkingdrinkers.com
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