Captain Morgan

Captain Morgan is a brand of flavoured rums (including, in Europe, some rum-flavoured "premium spirit drinks") produced by British alcohol conglomerate Diageo. It is named after the 17th-century Welsh privateer (pirate) of the Caribbean, Sir Henry Morgan.[1]

History

In 1944 the Seagram Company started manufacturing the Captain Morgan brand of rum.[2] In 1984, Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum was introduced to the United States.[3] In 2001 the Captain Morgan brand was sold to Diageo, a multinational drinks company based in London.[4] On 15 April 2005, Captain Morgan Tattoo Black Spiced rum and its claimed 'sweet-to-heat' finish became another addition to the Captain Morgan line. Most Captain Morgan rum is sold in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, and Global Travel.[5]

In November 2009, the NFL banned a covert ad campaign allegedly put on by Diageo. It was understood that for each NFL player striking the "Captain Morgan" pose on camera during a regular season game, Diageo would donate US$10000 2009 to the Gridiron Greats (a non-profit which helps retired NFL players with various hardships after leaving the game). The league made this announcement following such a celebration by Brent Celek of the Philadelphia Eagles.[6]

In 2010, two US territories, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands argued over plans for Captain Morgan to move operations to the Virgin Islands for tax reasons.[7] The matter came to a head during a debate in the United States Congress over the USVI's attempt to use tax benefits to lure the company to that territory.[8]

In 2014, Diageo Canada filed a trade dress infringement lawsuit against Heaven Hill Distilleries Inc, claiming striking similarities between the Captain Morgan character and Admiral Nelson, and that the similarity would dilute the Captain Morgan trademark.[9] Diageo Canada won the lawsuit in 2017.[10]

In 2020, the brand launched a new product called Captain Morgan Tiki. This new pineapple mango flavor rum is available in the United Kingdom, Australia, Czechia, and Germany.[11]

Varieties

• Original Spiced Rum – The flagship Captain Morgan rum, flavored with spices. Reformulated in 2023 to include Madagascar vanilla. Bottled at 35% alcohol by volume (70 proof).
• 100 Proof Spiced Rum – Original Captain Morgan, bottled at 50% alcohol by volume (100 proof).
• White Rum – A five-times distilled rum that is aged in white oak barrels for over a year, and then filtered to remove the colour, except for the Atlantic Canadian market, where it retains a greenish tinge.[12][13] Bottled at 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof).
• Black Spiced Rum – A dark spiced rum. Bottled at 50% alcohol by volume (100 proof).
• Spiced Gold - A spiced rum with a taste of vanilla and brown sugar.[14]
• Tiki – A limited edition rum with pineapple and mango flavors to pair with lemonade.[11]
• Spiced Gold 0.0% Alcohol Free Spirit - Non-alcoholic alternative to Spiced Gold variety.[15]
• Coconut Rum - Sweet, delicate and creamy taste of fresh coconut with a background of citrus and tropical fruit balanced with notes of molasses. Bottled at 35% alcohol by volume.[16]

In popular culture

Before and after the 2015 SummerSlam event, John Cena used the brand as a nickname for Seth Rollins during WWE's Monday Night Raw.[17][18]

In 2016, Diageo created special limited edition bottles to commemorate Wes Morgan captaining Leicester City F.C. to the 2015–16 Premier League title.[19]

A technique for dislocated hip reduction is named after the pose on the bottle label which a surgeon can mimic.[20]

See also

• List of Puerto Rican rums

External links

• Captain Morgan official website
• Captain Morgan on thebar UK, owned by Diageo