It is rare for an industry outsider to lead a whisky tasting. It would usually be conducted by someone specifically trained to do so, or by someone more closely involved on the product side—a member of the blending team, for instance, or perhaps someone who grew up around casks and warehouses, who lives and breathes whisky. Malcolm Borwick is not any of these things. He is a sportsman; a polo player who has competed at the highest level for decades. But he has also been an associate of Royal Salute for nearly two decades—more than enough time to pick up a thing or two about drams.
He was recently found confidently and enthusiastically leading a whisky tasting for Royal Salute guests at Jeff’s Cellar, in The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat, Ipoh. The drams of the night included Royal Salute’s 24-year-old Cognac Cask Finish, 21-year-old Signature Blend, and the new 21-year-old Rio de Janeiro Polo Edition (RM1,060)—a new addition to the portfolio, and the reason Borwick had travelled all the way from England.
As effective a speaker as Borwick is about whisky, however, it pales in comparison to him talking about his first love—polo. He has been all over the world giving polo clinics to Royal Salute guests, including the afternoon before the launch at Ipoh’s BP Polo Club. He has an infectious, laidback eagerness that helps demystify the game. Polo, nicknamed ‘the sport of kings’, has a prestige to it that is double-edged—the downside being that many assume that it is fundamentally inaccessible. This is despite the fact that horseback and polo lessons are readily available even in Kuala Lumpur clubs, and for about the same price as a pickleball instruction.
“I always say: if polo doesn’t raise your pulse, you probably don’t have a pulse! It is a sport that really encapsulates everything,” he says. “I am very passionate about it, and I love getting people to do it for the first time. I see their reaction, their engagement.” Polo is a complex and technically demanding sport, which is part of the reason Borwick finds it so compelling. The right arm and torso have to worry about hitting a ball with a stick—and any golfer, tennis player, or snooker exponent will tell you how that takes a lifetime to master—while the left hand and lower body need to maintain control of the horse.
Combined with up to eight players on the field, changing out horses every chukka (or seven-minute period), and with conditions that vary across a match as hooves tear up the grass, there is a lot going on. “The casual observer, honestly, does not understand what they’re watching,” he adds. “The reason that Royal Salute does this ‘zero-to-hero’ polo experience for our guests is to try and break down those barriers a little bit between the grandstand and the field. I think that hour or hour-and-a-half that we get to give you a feeling of the sport is really important to help your understanding of it.”
A big part of Borwick’s relationship with Royal Salute, which started in 2009, is about spreading this awareness and knowledge of polo. “There are so many ties between the heritage aspect of Royal Salute, as a brand made for royalty, and the heritage and traditions of the sport of polo,” he explains. “We created a plan that always meant we would go to smaller polo clubs and destinations, and we would support their events. What can we do to help the sport?”
And then, of course, there are the whiskies. Borwick has worked closely with Royal Salute on each of its Polo Editions. The first three were dedicated to the sport’s terrains—grass, beach, and snow—followed by editions dedicated to specific locations in Argentina, Miami, and India. The seventh edition is dedicated to the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. Bottled at 40 per cent ABV, it builds upon the brand’s typical rich, fruity flavours, with whiskies aged in first-fill casks from the Braeval distillery. It presents itself rather differently for Royal Salute: lighter and more floral with a pronounced note of coconut. Borwick leaves the actual crafting of the spirit to the experts—namely, Royal Salute master blender Sandy Hyslop—but, as with past editions, he offered his input. “It’s very much a personal journey. We discuss places that have been significant to me over my polo career,” Borwick says. “I’ve played in Brazil many times, and Rio has this incredible vibe to it. The passion, the way they play polo, is a reflection of the environment that their city is in. They’re an extremely talented nation of both equestrians—look at their Olympic-level showjumping and dressage. So, when I got a chance to doff my cap to Rio, I said I’d love to. And it gave me an excuse to go back to the beach there, which is great!”
More than 70 countries play polo; Borwick has played in 38 of them. “You know, Winston Churchill said: ‘A polo handicap is a passport to the world.’ And in my experience, that’s been totally true,” he muses. Interestingly, one of those significant, personal locations is Malaysia. “The first professional contract I ever had to play in the premier league was here in Malaysia. I got contracted by the Royal Pahang polo team when I was just, literally, my first year out of university,” he recalls. “And I remember coming up here, not really knowing much about Malaysia, and then going up to Pahang and staying up on the coast, thinking it was the most extraordinary, beautiful country.” Which means that a Royal Salute Polo Edition that is one day dedicated to Malaysia is not out of the question.
The Royal Salute 21 Year Old Rio de Janeiro Polo Edition is available in limited quantities (starting from RM1,060) at selected premium retail and liquor stores across West and East Malaysia, the official Pernod Ricard Malaysia Shopee Store, as well as via direct purchase. For further direct purchasing inquiries, click here.
Whisky lovers are also invited to savour the exclusive Royal Salute pairing menu at Jeff’s Cellar, available for a limited time at RM990 nett per person.
For ages 21 and older, non-Muslims only. Enjoy Royal Salute Responsibly.
