Monkey Shoulder Welcomes New Brand Ambassador, Gaurav Sareen

Monkey Shoulder is a premium blended malt scotch for the new generation of whisky aficionados and a bartender’s favourite. As the ambassador for Monkey Shoulder in India, Gaurav lives and breathes the Monkey Shoulder attitude; young at heart, outgoing, fun, friendly, sometimes silly, always loveable, and open to playing by anything but the rules when disrupting the Whisky market.

“I attribute Monkey Shoulder’s success to the fact that they were able to reinvent a conventional drink. As an individual, I too have always challenged the conventional, and am excited to be a part of this incredible brand with our thoughts aligned in the right direction,” says Gaurav Sareen. While distillery tours might be on offer from other brands, Monkey Shoulder has Monkey Camps, an adventure best understood when experienced, he adds.

 Payal Nijhawan, Head of Marketing, William Grant & Sons said “This year, we are bringing our cheeky and playful brand personality to life in a bold and distinctive style. As we continue to bring the brand to a wider audience, we are excited to see Gaurav take on the role of the brand ambassador for Monkey Shoulder. With his expertise and knowledge, we are confident that our New Chief Monkey Officer Gaurav will take Monkey Shoulder to new heights and deliver life-sized experiences in a unique and disruptive way.”

Beginning his career in the hospitality industry, Gaurav has significant experience under his belt. He kickstarted his career as a management trainee at Crowne Plaza Gurugram and was later promoted as an assistant restaurant manager handling the Brazilian restaurant Wildfire and the 24/7 bar Connexions.

Moving on, he joined as the manager for Spectra, the premium and award winning multicuisine restaurant at the Leela Ambience Gurugram. Alongside his job, he also accomplished wine certifications with WSET (Level 3) and the Court of Master Sommeliers. To diversify his career graph, he moved on as a project manager for north, to Tulleeho, a beverage training and consulting company, wherein he developed specialized training programs on beer, wine and spirits appreciation.

 Before stepping in the role of Brand Ambassador at Monkey Shoulder, he also had a brief stint at Pass Code hospitality as the General Manager, which involved handling the operations of PCO, New Delhi's foremost speakeasy style cocktail bar (Featured on the World's 500 Best Bars list and 50 Best Discovery List in 2021), amidst other responsibilities. Gaurav believes that Monkey Shoulder is way ahead of the conventional drinking curve and is toning down the traditional ‘serious-oak-leather-cigar’ exclusivity of whisky and making it a younger, bolder, and sexier drink.