Captain Morgan Explained

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 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 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.
• 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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Captain Morgan Was Actually a Real Person—and He Didn't Make Rum . 4 December 2017 . Reader's Digest . 9 April 2019 . 30 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190530130843/https://www.rd.com/food/fun/captain-morgan-real-person/ . dead .
2. Book: Curtis, Wayne. And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails. 2007. Three Rivers Press. New York. 978-0-307-51285-7.
3. Web site: Diageo Company History . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070404041342/http://www.diageo.com/en-row/AboutDiageo/OurHistory/ . 4 April 2007 . 2007-04-13.
4. Web site: Diageo Company History. 13 April 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070404041342/http://www.diageo.com/en-row/AboutDiageo/OurHistory/. 4 April 2007. . dead.
5. http://www.diageo.com/en-row/ourbrands/ourglobalbrands/captainmorgan/ "Captain Morgan"
6. News: NFL to Captain Morgan, players: 'Ambush marketing' won't be tolerated . 12 November 2009 . USA Today . 2010-04-29.
7. News: Lever . Rob . Daggers in Washington in Captain Morgan rum battle . 29 March 2010 . . 2010-08-30.
8. News: USVI governor asks US senator to reconsider legislation harming territory's economic future . 13 April 2010 . . 2010-08-30.
9. Web site: Diageo sues 'copycat' Admiral Nelson's rum . Eads . Lauren . The Drinks Business . April 2014 . 19 June 2019.
10. News: Robertson . Susan . Captain Morgan defends trademark as Admiral Nelson's is ordered to weigh anchor . 19 June 2019 . The Globe and Mail.
11. Web site: March 2020. Captain Morgan creates tiki-themed spirit drink. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200324151347/https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2020/03/captain-morgan-creates-tiki-themed-spirit-drink/ . 24 March 2020 .
12. Web site: April 13 . Russ Martin . Captain Morgan honours its East Coast connection . Marketingmag.ca.
13. News: Captain Morgan White Rum Review . 2014-02-09 . Cocktail Enthusiast . 2017-01-28 . en-US.
14. Web site: Captain Morgan Original Spiced Gold Captain Morgan . 2022-12-13 . www.captainmorgan.com . en.
15. Web site: Captain Morgan Spiced Gold 0.0% Alcohol Free Spirit Captain Morgan . 20 July 2024 . www.captainmorgan.com.
16. https://www.captainmorgan.com/en-us/products/captain-morgan-coconut-rum
17. Web site: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins Contract Signing: Raw, Aug. 17, 2015 . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/sJR0M7Li9hE. 2021-12-12 . live. 17 August 2015 . . I figured there was no chance in hell I was ever getting close to that championship again until Captain Morgan over here opened his big fat stupid mouth!.
18. Web site: Seth Rollins gets an unwelcome Night of Champions surprise: Raw, Aug. 31, 2015 . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/QwzmbeUVZZY. 2021-12-12 . live. 31 August 2015 . . John: "do I have a match against Captain Morgan ... at Night of Champions ... for the United States Championship?" Stephanie: "Yes.".
19. Web site: Leicester Captain Wes Morgan Appears on Limited Edition Bottles of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum.
20. https://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(11)01307-2/fulltext The Captain Morgan Technique for the Reduction of the Dislocated Hip