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Around the World in 80 Drinks: Review of The Thinking Drinkers

Published:  12 December, 2016

Watching Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham at last nights Around the World in 80 Drinks at the Museum of Comedy in Holborn, you might be forgiven for thinking that the Fogg & Passepartout duo were embarking on nothing more than an hour long global booze fest; a kind of drinks pantomime that takes place from Italy to India and Korea to Venezuela.

Watching Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham at last nights Around the World in 80 Drinks at the Museum of Comedy in Holborn, you might be forgiven for thinking that the Fogg & Passepartout duo were embarking on nothing more than an hour long global booze fest; a kind of drinks pantomime that takes place from Italy to India and Korea to Venezuela.

But this is a class act from start to finish; a fine blend of fact, story telling and tasting. And while this does all take place at lightning speed, the show manages to pack a lot in; the world after all is a big place.

To kick off the voyage, a boat is miraculously built from the one prop on stage - a bar of course. First stop India and first drink of the night a hoppy Meantime IPA followed swiftly by a shot of Plymouth Gin - everything one ever needed to keep the empire ticking over. Now, what happened next was a surprise. My friend and I had been warned that the show contained some 'partial nudity' and I'm not going to lie, seeing Tom in a Campari red thong playing Charles Joughin, the infamous drunken baker on the Titanic, was a moment I'll try to remember, for a while at least.

Joughin drank so much Cognac and Whisky on the night of the sinking that having refused a place in the lifeboat he stepped off the sinking ship into the sea and survived five hours in the icy water with virtually no ill effects. To the end of his days, he thanked alcohol for keeping him alive.

The evening moves along at a ripping speed - hilarity in a Bollywood mime - some shockingly bad jokes about martini and curry and then it's onto South East Asia, in a hot air balloon if you don't mind. A whistle stop tour of Japan (where they drink more whisky than any other nation) and Korea (where the national drink Soju is the world's most widely drunk spirit). And then Samuel Barber and gunfire bring us to Vietnam and tales of the morale boosting role of alcohol on the battlefield.

The French drank brandy to give them courage (to surrender); the Dutch drank Gin (which is where the phrase 'Dutch courage' comes from) and the Russians and Germans apparently ran out of booze and promptly lost the war. Next shot of the night is aptly named Bulleit Bourbon a rich, spicy American whisky.

And then off to the States we go. On a propeller plane I think this time. A nod to the Irish and a shot of Jameson's followed by the history of the pot and Coffey still and why Scotland won the volume battle and became the most successful whisky producing country of all time. A menacing Al Capone tells the story of prohibition and then with a gracious word from Donald Trump we find ourselves climbing over his Mexican wall and into South America and perhaps the biggest surprise of the night, Ben dressed in a black bikini as Miss Venezuela - a back drop for our final shot, Diplomatico rum, delicious, sweet and chocolaty.

But how to end such a whirlwind tour, with a joyous European finale of course; a stand up sing-a-long song about Germany (Blue Nun and football), France (Cognac & wine), Spain (Rioja and Sherry) and Russia (vodka).

'Across the Channel they all stink,

Use weird money and talk funny,

But we're all a little closer than you think.

Coz in Europe they like beer, spirits, wine and good cheer,

Yes the whole of Europe does enjoy a drink!

They boys promised at the start of the night to improve our liquid lives. They promised us 'laugher and learning you lucky bastards', and while the jokes were sometimes 'tears rolling down your face terrible' the overall effect was one of camaraderie, hilarity and good old fashioned British fun. The question is, can these boys hold a boozy panto together?

'Oh yes they can.'

For tickets visit www.museumofcomedy.com 14-18 December and 21-22 December.

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