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The Open’s Claret Jug is the world’s booziest trophy
As The Open golf tournament gets ready to tee-off, last year’s champion Brian Harman has revealed that he has been using the Claret Jug for…claret — and many other drinks.
The Open’s Claret Jug could well be the world’s booziest trophy, and perhaps the sporting award that has had the most alcohol drunk out of it.
When asked by ESPN journalist Taylor Zarzour at The Open’s press conference about what was the best wine that Harman had drank out of the jug, he said: “I don’t know what it was called, but it was damn good”, as well as confirming that it was a red wine.
In addition, Harman said that the wine was “unusually expensive” and he added that he hadn’t just been drinking the grape, highlighting that he had also supped “some unusually exceptional bourbon out of it”.
DRC
Whether it was a bottle of fine Burgundy like DRC, or a shot of Pappy Van Winkle, is pure conjecture. But it should be noted that 2013 champion Phil Mickelson told The Scotman that he did drink a US$40,000 1990 bottle of Romanee-Conti out of the jug.
Mickelson said winners of the jug “really appreciate what it means to hold such a famous trophy. And drink out of it. I only let them drink the good stuff of course. There’s been nothing in there that is sub-par.”
Last year, after winning the jug at the Royal Liverpool course, Harman chose a slightly cheaper option than Mickelson to celebrate: beer.
Indeed, he had promised the crowd that “I’m going to have me a couple pints out of this here trophy, I believe.”
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Harman had to return the Claret Jug yesterday to the event organisers, as he looks to defend his title.
It is worth noting that the jug isn’t actually called the Claret Jug as its official name, although it is now commonplace for journalists and broadcasters to describe it in such a way.
The trophy, officially called The Golf Champion Trophy, was made in the style of 19th century jugs, which served claret from the Bordeaux region.
There are three replica jugs, one of which is in the British Museum of Golf at St. Andrews with the other two used for exhibition purposes.
History of chugging
Other Open champions have loved to drink out of the jug over the years.
In 2022, Cameron Smith told Golf Digest that the jug can hold around two pints, and that when asked what he drunk out of it he said “everything you can think of”.
Double champion Padraig Harrington said that he had drunk John Smith’s smooth bitter — as well as highlighting there had been “lots of other liquids in there”.
Stewart Cink, who won the jug in 2009, had Guinness and Rory McIlroy went for an interesting option: Jagermeister.
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