Whisky and seduction don’t usually go together, but reading through the morning paper, my attention was caught by a whisky based organisation calling itself “The Monkey Shoulder Appreciation Society“, which advertised an evening talk entitled “The Art of Seduction“, to be given by a fellow called Guy Browning.
A quick search of the internet reveals that Guy Browning is described as a quick-witted author of the Guardian newspaper’s weekly ‘How To’ column, which seems to be quite popular amongst Guardian readers. He is also the author of a number of books on both and business and humour, as well as being a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4.
Now, obviously this was all a publicity stunt, to promote a new brand of whisky, but with a talented speaker, the event seemed like it would be an interesting and probably quite fun talk, with a bonus of some whisky swilling thrown in, so I applied for tickets.
Unfortunately, even thought the talk was only advertised on the morning of the day it was to occur; it seems that through a combination of bad management, poor planning and lack of foresight, the organisers had completely underestimated demand for the event. I contacted Rob Curteis, who had replied to me (perhaps he’s the monkey’s uncle?), pointing out that I had planned to write about his event, but it seems that he doesn’t have the manners to respond to his email.
Perhaps Mr Curteis had forgotten that Valentines Day is only a few days away, and with the popularity of events such as the Barbican’s exhibition of erotic art “Seduced: Art and Sex from Antiquity to Now”, a talk about seduction would undoubtedly be extremely popular.
As to the whisky, I should point out that I’m not an expert, and I haven’t tried Monkey Shoulder; but I’m dubious about any whisky that the manufacturer recommends you mix with Coke. However, I did look through some of the whisky aficionado sites, and it seems that connoisseurs have said it’s too sweet, and isn’t particularly nice.
So, I’m guessing that when it came to drinks, I didn’t miss very much.
Posted by Jonathan in Reviews