Desert island sips
What are you Desert Island Sips? Join in here.
I’ve been planning a Desert Island Sips (‘Sips’ for short) podcast for years. When I say planning, I mean: I came up with the concept, bought a URL, set up an Instagram account and interviewed David Shrigley. Then nothing.
Sips was supposed to be part of a brand campaign for the brewery, where I interviewed our brand partners, collaborators, suppliers, teammates and customers - basically all our favourite people.
It’s based on Desert Island Discs, of course.
If you’ve never heard of that, check it out. It’s a much loved BBC Radio show that’s been running for nearly 100 years - over 3400 episodes. The BBC has over 2500 episodes available in its archive, here.
This is how it works:
“Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordings (usually, but not always, music), a book and a luxury item that they would like to take if they were to be cast away on a desert island, whilst discussing their life and the reasons for their choices.”
Sips is similar, but our castaway is asked to choose 4 drinks.
There’s plenty of drinking water on the desert island, so our castaway doesn’t have to worry about that. Still or sparkling. With ice and a slice. However you like it.
Our castaway can take whatever drink they like, but we frame the drinks in these categories.
Nostalgic drink. A sip that triggers a heartwarming memory from the past.
Go-to drink. Something you can sip and sip and sip right now.
Retirement drink. For when the mornings drift into afternoons, and the afternoons drift into evenings.
Your last sip. What your lips touch as you walk through the last big door.
The drinks can be anything - they don't have to be boozy. They can be obscure, rare, simple, complex. You’re the one stuck on the island; you do what you gotta do. I would say avoid what one of my pals, Owen, chose. His choices were Heineken, Heineken, Heineken, Heineken. He’s a monster. But who am I to tell him? (I did tell him).
There are other considerations too that can be added if there’s time, like snacks (what snack would accompany each drink), and also, the never sip (what was your worst ever sip).
The podcast format was intended to be long-form interview style, enabling the subject matter to not just cover the drinks but to allow the guest to really get into the details of their favourite memories, challenges, work and future plans etc.
It worked really well with David Shrigley, our first guest, but it was well over an hour. And even though he’s an incredibly interesting and generous guest, this was too long. Editing was tough as it was all good stuff and it flowed well, but I lost track of the structure (which was why we had the categories). Basically, I ain’t no podcaster.
Years passed and the Yard came into being. I had the realisation that there wasn’t anyone in the team else readily available to take on the socials, so you’re stuck with me for now. But while I was thinking about what videos would be interesting to put out, Desert Island Sips popped into my head. I could do it, but short-form. A quick 60-90 seconds of favourite drinks.
I would still interview our favourite people and archive them online, but I would cut the video to 60-90 seconds.
I also created an online form so people could take part wherever they are and I’ll read them out online.
I’ve bugged my friends for years asking what their Desert Island Sips would be and it only occurred to me recently that I hadn’t worked out what mine were. I’d thought about it a lot, but I’d never committed to a final list.
But you have to commit.
(Sidenote: you don’t have to commit. You can do whatever you like. You’re all grown up and can change your mind whenever you like.)
So here we go:
Nostalgic drink. When I was a young kid, I remember my dad taking me to Notting Hill Carnival (a few miles down the road from where we lived in Ealing). I guess it would have been the late 80s. I was tiny. Everything seemed so massive and chaotic. There were these buzzing makeshift stands all over the place selling food and drinks. One that stuck out to me was a shake stand. They sold banana milkshakes with malted milk and ice cream. Standing there watching the vendor mix up my shake with the sound systems blasting and people dancing in the streets is a beautiful vignette I have in my terrible memory bank. I still love banana shakes today and the smell and taste transport me back to Notting Hill with my dad.
Go-to drink. Shaka. Shaka. Shaka. It’s the first beer our brewery made. Created at our Brighton brewpub, the first pub me and Jen bought. It means so much to us and just by chance, it’s also my favourite beer. If I had the option to add a mixer to my Desert Island Sips choices, I’d add a Ting (a grapefruit soda). For those times when you want something lighter (or earlier). Side note: Shaka and Ting is where we got the idea for Toadlicker from, which would be my second go-to choice.
Retirement drink. Red wine. Almost certainly a Barolo.
Last sip. Dirty Dry Gin Martini. This is a perfect drink to kick off a night, so what better time to have it than on your way out. I don’t like it too dirty, just a dash.
If you want to share your Desert Island Sips with us, fill out this super simple form and I’ll read it out on socials and add them to our archive. It’s just a bit of fun. No prizes.