Earlier this month, whisky brand Monkey Shoulder invited Australians to step into a world of bold flavour and modern whisky culture, with an exclusive, immersive dining experience that celebrated the bold characteristics of the Old Fashioned.
Monkey Shoulder leaned into experiential marketing to shake up perceptions around both the brand and whisky more broadly.
Speaking to B&T, Monkey Shoulder’s marketing manager Gemma Eastwood touched on trying to shift people’s opinions.
“Traditionally, people say whisky is for older people, it’s something your dad drinks, and we’re really trying to get a younger generation into drinking it,” she said.
“This is a really good way to get the younger generation thinking about and challenging those assumptions that they may have about drinking dark spirits in general.
“A lot of females in particular go, ‘I don’t drink dark spirits, I don’t drink whisky’, but when you start to pair it in beautiful cocktails and show the versatility, people go, ‘oh my god, that’s amazing’,” she said.
With a menu curated by renowned chef, Mitch Orr, the experience transformed Vitelli’s Upstairs in Sydney for one night only, into an immersive, high-energy setting, where guests explored a menu designed to challenge the palate, paired with a reimagined Monkey Shoulder Old Fashioned.
The event was designed to inspire people to recreate those serves and flavour combinations at home.
“What we try and seek to replicate at home and off premise as well. To build brands, you’re wanting to build the meaning of and get people to go home and do the same thing, or get to go out again and go have that experience again,” said Eastwood.
The brand hosted media, key influences and key trade personnel. Eastwood added it was extremely important to get these people on board with the brands new perception in order to continue shifting opinions.
“Getting our trade to really understand the shift and change in Monkey Shoulder is absolutely key, and this is sort of what we’re doing over the next 12 to 18 months, is really embedding those key retailers and on trade as well into where monkey shoulder is going forward,” added Eastwood.
The experience came as new research commissioned by Monkey Shoulder revealed Australians are increasingly embracing “acquired tastes”, with 57 per cent saying they enjoy foods and drinks they’ve grown to love over time.
But while taste is evolving, many Australians admit they’re still playing it safe. Nearly half (47 per cent) of Australians believe they have sophisticated taste, yet 82 per cent still opt for safe, familiar flavours, highlighting a gap between how we see ourselves and how we actually drink and dine.
Australians are moving away from trend-led choices, with 59 per cent saying they’re bored of food and drink trends, and 87 per cent agreeing that the best things in life aren’t made to please everyone. The Old Fashioned is emerging as a symbol of this shift, with 84 per cent of millennials now viewing it as a “grown-up” drink, and 60 per cent associating whisky with confidence and maturity.
Chef Mitch Orr said the cocktail’s resurgence is part of a wider cultural shift towards depth and complexity in flavour. “An Old Fashioned is something you grow into – it’s not designed to be instantly likeable, and that’s exactly the appeal”, Orr said. “People are becoming more confident in their taste, and more open to flavours that take time to appreciate,” he said.
For Eastwood, Orr was the perfect brand ambassador for the experience as he challenges boundaries and gets consumers to think differently about different tastes and flavours. Which ties nicely into what Monkey Shoulder is trying to achieve through this dining experience.
