South Africa’s first-ever whiskey meets polo masterclass

Premium Scotch whisky brand, Johnnie Walker spearheaded South Africa’s first ever Whisky Meets Polo Masterclass in association with the Nedbank International Polo. The brand hosted acclaimed guests at the inaugural masterclass on 13 September at the Inanda Polo Club.

Lesedi Mashale, head of PR, events and influencers announced the start of a long Johnnie Walker partnership with the Nedbank International Polo.

“The 2019 partnership is the beginning of a long partnership which will continue to build the whisky meets polo narrative. As a brand, Johnnie Walker is all about disrupting, challenging the status quo and pushing boundaries. When we conceptualized this idea, it was pretty clear to us as a brand that we needed to come up with a concept that not only compliments our involvement in the Nedbank International Polo but also shares the whisky experience in conjunction with the sport of polo, something that has never been done before,” Mashale said.

Guests saddled up and enjoyed an afternoon filled with horseback riding, polo lessons and whisky. The polo masterclass was spearheaded by the Polo Manager of the Inanda Polo Club, Craig James, who gave guests an engaging polo tutorial and broke down the rules of the game as excitement built up for the main event.

“It was great to have the opportunity to share core aspects of the polo game with regular polo attendees. This granted us the perfect platform to delve into exactly what happens during the build-up of a polo match, during the match and of course shed light on other key aspects that go unnoticed on the day of a big polo game,” James said.

An afternoon of education, polo playing and whisky tasting set the tone for the official Nedbank International Polo.

“Whenever we get the opportunity to align our brand with events there are a few key things we take into consideration, it is important to us that the event audience speaks to our brand target market, we always need to ensure that the Johnnie Walker brand doesn’t get lost in the hype of it all and more importantly how can we push boundaries and disrupt the norm with our brand presence. The Whisky Meets Polo Masterclass ticks all those boxes and more,” said Thandeka Motsoha, Johnnie Walker senior brand manager.

After a day of swinging mallets on the field, a friendly game of foot polo and of course the infamous divot stomping, one of the longest-standing and most important traditions in the Sport of Kings, the event ended in an opulent whisky tasting session where guests had the opportunity to enjoy  bespoke taste notes of the Johnnie Walker product mix.