GO FOR GOLD
Embark on an adventure with this smooth and rich new-age blend
INSPIRED BY THE essence of adventure, FiftySix Degrees whisky is born from the fire, malt, water and indomitable spirit of the Scottish highland. Smooth and subtle, FiftySix
Degrees is a new-age whisky that is alluring and easy on the palate. Named after the latitude of the Scottish Highlands, FiftySix Degrees whisky was conceived through a collaboration between 56 Degrees Marketing and Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd, one of Scotland’s top ten whisky companies.
Highly anticipated and sought-after by whisky aficionados across the nation, FiftySix Degrees’s intriguing and noble blend is bound to speak to a new generation of whisky drinkers. While staying true to Scottish passion for tradition, it also embodies the boldness of whisky innovation. FiftySix Degrees is about pioneering an age old heritage to fresh new heights.
Paying tribute to the Scottish Highlands where the finest whiskies are born, FiftySix Degrees whisky aims to delight the palette with it’s unique blend of specially sourced single malts and grain whiskies. With the expression of turning malt into liquid gold, FiftySix Degrees is determined to take whisky enthusiasts on an adventure.
FiftySix Degrees whisky is approachable and aims to bridge the gap between new and seasoned whisky drinkers. Starting with a soft lightly citrusy top notes, graduating into a rich, malty, fudgy heart, FiftySix Degrees whisky serves well neat or over ice. Aged in hand-picked bourbon and sherry oak casks, FiftySix Degrees whisky impresses with its balanced aroma and a mouth coating pleasant fruitiness developing over time.
Distinctively dissimilar from the classic round whisky bottles, FiftySix Degrees whisky is housed in an angular contemporary bottle adorned with sleek and graceful tartan lines, that is intended to incorporate a sense of continuity between the unwavering traditions of Scotch whisky-making and modernity.
There is enough to be admired about this brand to keep tipplers coming back for more. But apart from taste, a special mention must be made for the courage, vision and financial savvy required to create a whisky expression of your very own. This whisky is a warm, rich, and young elixir, but one that you can settle down with a drop of water or with a dash of mixer. It’s just the sort of dram your weary bones might welcome after a long day on the corporate hamster wheel. To elevate a whisky like FiftySix Degrees, simply add likeminded friends. And you’re golden. AM
“PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS WHERE THE FINES WHISKIES ARE BORN, FIFTYSIX DEGREES WHISKY AIMS TO DELIGHT THE PALETTE WITH IT’S UNIQUE BLEND OF SPECIALLY SOURCED SINGLE MALTS AND GRAIN WHISKIES“
I LOATHE TO admit this but I have never properly explored Bangkok at all. Every trip to the Thai capital in the past has been about attending glitzy product launches at its latest, most glamorous hot spots, or checking out the vibrant Thai designer scene. It was only quite recently that I got a real taste of the city. My chance came when I was invited to attend this year’s King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, a highlight in the social calendar of Thailand, of which the Anantara group of properties is patron.
The King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament
There is quite a story behind the event. Apparently what started out as a whimsical conversation between two quirky sport lovers and philanthropists in the late 1990s turned into one of the biggest annual charity events in Thailand. The King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament was first launched in the royal seaside town of Hua Hin by Anantara Hua Hin Resort & Spa in 2001. Since the first tournament Anantara has rescued over 50 street elephants, 30 of which now enjoy a comfortable life at Anantara Golden Triangle’s onsite elephant camp, helmed by director John Roberts. Each annual event allows a further 20 young elephants to be taken off the streets for the duration of the tournament and be provided with the best food possible, as well as proper veterinary check and vitamins.
Elephants are a proud cultural symbol of Thailand’s history. Yet despite the strong bond between Thai people and their nation’s gentle giants, there are still a worrying number of elephants forced to walk the city streets to make their handlers a miserly living by begging from tourists.
Since 2003, under John’s passionate helm, Anantara Golden Triangle’s Elephant Camp has successfully rescued such elephants, accompanied by their mahout families. Nothing but the utmost respect is given to the pachyderms and all proceeds from the tournament are used to ensure sustenance, medical treatment and employment for the elephants, as well as mahout training.
Pomp Pageantry and Great Fun For All
This year, the tournament brought four days of fun activities on and off the pitch, which was surrounded by a pop-up Thai food village, VIP lounges and hipster corners.
Following a spectacular opening ceremony and cultural blessings from a local Buddhist monk and the last remaining Kru Ba Yai, the Elephant Spirit Men of Thailand, the tournaments began with competing teams from across the world. Each game saw only 14 minutes of play, once again to ensure that the elephants do not suffer any strain or fatigue.
An air of well-heeled chic pervaded the grounds as all of Bangkok, both local and expatriate, got out and about in their Sunday best. After dark, the crowds enjoyed live music by Thai popstar, Singto Numchok as well as DJ sets from Rhythm Nation Band. In the final match, reigning champions Mekhong went head to head with PWC New Zealand All Blacks, with Mekhong clinching the title in the last moments with a score of 7-6. Overall, this year’s tournament raised a sum of over four million Thai Baht.
Riding The Klong
In between matches on the pitch, I decided to join Anantara’s Klong Guru and Street Guru tours. The former took Anantara and Avani
FIFA World Coach of the Year 2010 and the Ballon d’Or for coaches, he has led teams in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain to victory in their national championships. He has Portugal in his heart and the best players of England in his hands, and may well connect his watch to shift between these two nations.
Stanislas Cherchesov
The USSR’s and Russia’s Best Goalkeeper and winner of the USSR Cup, Cherchesov is the man responsible for preparing the national team of Russia for the 2018 World Cup. The coach is determined to see the ultimate dream of every coach through: to win in their own country.
Didier Deschamps
He was nominated by FIFA as one of the best living players. His results have earned him the distinction of best coach of the year on two occasions, and best coach in League 1. He won the FIFA World Cup in 1998, and took France into the ¼ finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the final of UEFA EURO 2016.
Björn Kuipers
With whistles and cards, he has witnessed the greatest victories in football and refereed almost everything... FIFA, UEFA, UEFA
Europa League, UEFA Champions League, Confederations Cup, UEFA U-17 and U-21 Championships, the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Hervé Renard
The French footballer, now a coach, is experiencing his first FIFA World Cup this year on the bench of the Moroccan team. A little nod from destiny, he qualified Morocco for the FIFA World Cup in a win against the Ivory Coast, which he had led to victory in 2015 by winning his second Africa Cup of Nations after having taken Zambia to the final in 2012.
Gareth Southgate
Gareth’s heart lies with England. He has represented the team in FIFA World Cups, trained the U-21 team, and become manager of the senior men’s team in
2016 - qualifying top of the group for
FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia. During his domestic playing career, Gareth made over 500 senior team appearances for Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough. He was club captain of all three sides, winning the First Division title with Palace and the League Cup twice with both Villa and the ‘Boro. Gareth Southgate is a born leader and was destined to make the transition from successful player to top-flight manager when he hung up his boots in 2006.
David Trezeguet
Champion of France in 1998, he became the best foreign goal-scorer in the history of Juventus in Italy. He played in three FIFA World Cups, including a victory in 1998 under the French flag. He finished his career where he began playing football, in Argentina. AM
guests through the narrow waterways of the city. A fast and narrow motorised craft, the klong is a great way to see the hidden nooks and crannies of Bangkok.
Our klong sped through the watery belly of the Thai capital, giving us a chance to observe life by the riverside. There was a wide cross-section of abodes, from humble squatter shacks with awnings so weathered and shredded they actually looked cool, to fenced and manicured palatial mansions.
We made a stop at a local provision store to see what it stocked. There was a plethora of glutinous rice cakes to try. They were delicious but a little too sweet and heavy for me as I’d just eaten a full breakfast at the hotel. There were also local beers and stronger stuff to try, including the Thai Red Bull (apparently this is the real deal).
Our Guru pointed out the cleaners of the waterways, namely the monitor lizards. Initially unable to spot them because they were cleverly camouflaged with their surroundings, I finally managed to see them when they moved. They were huge. And somewhere down the river, I found the answer to why this was so. Our Guru tossed loaves of bread into the river and immediately, a feeding frenzy ensued. The river was teeming with fish. I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if I accidentally fell in.
We got off the klong at two points. The first was at a temple with magnificent architectural and ornamental flourishes, which appealed to the shutterbugs in the group. The second stop was more fun at the Artists Village. There was a rather bohemian feel to the place, with colourfully decorated corners to lounge at over some coffee and toast, art and craft shops to buy more interesting souvenirs than the downtown stores, and a dance school where we saw youngsters learning the finer points of traditional Thai dance from a veteran.
“IN THE STREET GURU TOUR, A KNOWLEDGEABLE GUIDE TOOK GUESTS THROUGH THE ALLEYWAYS AND MARKETS IN THE GRITTIEST CORNERS OF BANGKOK”
Backstreet Joys
In the Street Guru tour, a knowledgeable guide took guests through the alleyways and markets in the grittiest corners of Bangkok. With all the supermarkets that we are used to back home, it was interesting to see these oldstyle markets that made up with flavour what they lacked in the hygiene department.
The best part of the tour was getting to try all manner of food and drinks off push cart food vendors and street side stalls. Back home where I am usually very careful about what I eat̶ nothing deep-fried, nothing too sweet, nothing too exotic, nothing of suspicious origin̶I found myself throwing caution to the wind, and guzzled what tasted like the best fried chicken, the best satay, really yummy otah and some rather interesting sausages. I didn’t want to ask what went into those, as I didn’t think I wanted to know. It was enough that they tasted fantastic.
A Modern Approach
At the end of the day, whether after the King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament and its peripheral activities, touring the waterways
IF YOU HAVE not been fortunate enough to see his hilarious stand-up routines, you could probably still recognise his brand of humour if you’ve been keeping up with the local comedy scene over the past decade. Spontaneous, kinetic and straight up hilarious, Kavin Jay is one of the most talented stand-up comedian in the industry today. Incredibly charismatic and witty, much of Jay’s charm comes at his unique use of self-deprecating humor in his content. Winning the crowd over with his willingness to make fun of himself in the name of comedy. Having performed in countless shows all over the world, a Netflix special under his belt, as well as a nationwide tour just around the corner, Kavin Jay seems to be at the top of his game.
During an interview session with August Man Malaysia, Jay was asked about how his Netflix special came into fruition, his time in the United Kingdom, as well as what sets Malaysian comedy apart from the rest.
How did it all sta for you?
Well it started 12 years ago, I went to the UK when I was 17. When I came back to Malaysia, I saw that there was a void. My brother always encouraged me to be a comedian but I always pushed it away. Because when you’re young you don’t really put much thought into these. But when he suddenly passed away in 2006, that’s when I realised life is too short. On that same year, I got 150 of my friends in a pub and I tried to make some jokes. I failed miserably. I did really badly because I didn’t know what stand-up was. I was just saying funny things, but they were not jokes, get what I’m saying? There were a lot of punch line but there’s no set up to them. I didn’t know the dynamics and science of it. However, it kept pulling me back. I’d say when Time Out KL came out, they started the Time Out Comedy Thursday, and we became the backbone of that show. With that, we started to have a monthly stage with a proper audience instead of the type of guerrilla comedy that we were doing before that. We started getting better and better. So yeah, that was the beginning.
Did your time in the UK influence the material that you are doing now?
I guess it did, I watched a lot of stand-up comedy there. There’s this famous place call The Hyena in Newcastle, where I was. At that time, The Hyena has a reputation of destroying comedians. [laughs] It was one of those places where the main goal of the audience is to wreck the comedians and tear them apart. I used to watch famous comedians, like Michael McIntyre and Rhod Gilbert, who are big names now, get torn apart by the audience at the time. I guess it instilled in me that this is not going to be an easy job. Let’s talk about your Netlfix special,
how did that all came together?
It was very surprising to me. If you were to tell me that I’d have a Netflix Special when I started, I would’ve called you an idiot. In fact, even if you were to tell me six months ago, I still wouldn’t have believed you. Because they already had two comedians that they wanted, Harith Iskandar and Fakkah Fuzz. They had six months to prepare. So, when I came back from Edinburg to watch Harith’s taping, I went up to him and say “Good luck”. He turned to me and say “Good luck to you too”. Apparently, he had forgotten to inform me that I was going to open for his show. I wasn’t prepared and was certainly not dressed for the occasion. Harith tried to lend me one of his jackets, but it looked like a cardigan when it was on me. [laughs] So I went on stage in my Koko Krunch T-shirt and did my thing. After the show, the guys from Netflix walked up to me and asked whether I’d be able to meet the producers in Singapore in a week’s time. So I went to Singapore, and the producers told me that they were looking for a third act, and came to the conclusion that I’d be a good fit. So they asked whether I’d be free in a month’s time. On the outside, I was like “Yeah, let me check my schedule”, but I was actually bursting out of excitement internally. [laughs] Fortunately we were able to work it out. Yeah, it worked out. What’s unique about Malaysian comedy?
The audience here is a lot nicer, because they are a little more appreciative. [laughs] Most of the time, they don’t hackle. Also, I think the topic that we Malaysians laugh at is different. For example, in the States, race is taboo. But in Malaysia, that seems to be fine. But over there, religion seems to be in open season, whereas it’s tighter here in Malaysia. We all started out with the stereotypes, you know like jokes based on our races? These jokes wouldn’t work in other countries, because they wouldn’t know. They wouldn’t know the context and layers behind them. It’s very different in that sense. So instead of doing that, I do a lot of jokes based on universal subjects. Basically jokes about parents, myself or my awkwardness.
In addition, I think the fact that the Malaysian comedy scene is so small sets itself apart from the rest. Although it has grown exponentially since when I started. When we started there was only a few of us. There was me, Jenhan, Chi Ho, Douglas, and so on. Now, we’ve grown to a point that many of us are doing shows across different countries. People are successful. However, there’s another void now, now that we left. There are new comedians coming out, like Prakash Danial and Ryan Tan. Basically, they need to make the leap to fill in the void. It’s not an easy task, and I know that it’s hard. But if you get comfortable, you stop putting effort to get that hour special. AM
“IT WAS VERY SURPRISING TO ME. IF YOU WERE TO TELL ME THAT I’D HAVE A NETFLIX SPECIAL WHEN I STARTED, I WOULD’VE CALLED YOU AN IDIOT“
acting, yet they continue to hold a certain attraction and take on new roles. I believe it’s that charisma, that confidence in the knowledge of their own style and capacity. So I think in any situation, it’s important to tune our mindset to that and innovate from there in order to develop our art and stay fresh at the same time without foregoing the experience and individuality that come with us.
What is your position on China’s rising influence that has attracted collaborators and investors from around the world, including Hollywood and South Korea? Do you plan to follow suit and expand your career there?
It’s a very interesting cultural exchange at the moment, which I feel needs to be explored more gradually.The economic prospects can be hard to resist, but I think it has also triggered a time for us to reassess our work, identity, resources and capacity. If it’s just to copy each other’s work or to collaborate for a share of the market then it’s easy to miss the point of the actual art that we are trying to create here. Personally, I would like to approach the unknown one step at a time, instead of a blind leap, and, more importantly, appreciate the present support and good rapport that I have built throughout the years with my colleagues, crew, company, audience and anyone who has played a part, by continuing to engage with them while moving forward. Tell us about your new role in the upcoming Succession War. It seems unusual for a villain to take centre stage.
It’s a film about corruption, with a deeper meaning, and I play the historical figure from the Qing dynasty, Heshen, allegedly the most corrupt court official in China’s history. What we’re trying to showcase here is how corruption may benefit certain individuals and the related culprits with an immediate gain in power, wealth and influence, but only at present and for a limited period. Bear in mind that the world is a continuous progress. Once it has spread and perpetuated into a culture, it will create a difficult situation for society as a whole and the generations to come.
What’s important for you when considering a role? Whether playing a villain or hero, I feel that it is both more challenging and meaningful to play a role with more to him than meets the eye, a role that allows people to see from an opposite perspective, or a wider look at the situations that are driving the characters, to which the audience can relate in reality, or serve as either an example or a warning. A role with purpose. AM