Body Double Hardware
TASTING NOTES: “Aroma: Smoky, Rainier cherry, cherry cola, blueberry custard. Palate: Slightly intense tannin with a buttery grip. White pepper meets cherry tart. Cranberry and fresh blackberry. Finish: Medium balanced finish. Oak & acid. Black peppercorn rubbed ribeye.” (AbV 13.8%, pH 3.75)
VARIETALS: 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, 3% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc
BARRELS: 20 months; 6% new French oak, 8% new American oak, 6% new Eastern European oak
PAIRS WITH: N/A
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Claret.
The most famous trophy in golf is named after this wine style, and the nickname is better known than the real one. The Open Championship’s trophy is officially the Golf Champion Trophy, but nobody has called it that in my lifetime. It’s the Claret Jug: a silver ewer, first handed out in 1873 to Tom Kidd after he won at St Andrews. Scotland had been a claret-drinking country for centuries, so a wine jug as the grand prize needed no explanation. I do want to know how many winners have actually filled it with claret. My guess is at least one, and I’d bet it ended badly for the engraving.
The best part is the paperwork. The jug was ordered too late for the 1872 Open, so that year’s champion, Young Tom Morris, got a medal. His name was engraved on the jug anyway, which means he is on the trophy he never held. The original now lives permanently at the R&A clubhouse in St Andrews, and each winner gets a replica. The most prestigious cup in golf is a body double, and the real one stays home.
