Captain Morgan is a brand of flavored rums (including, in Europe, some rum-flavored "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]
Manufacturer | Diageo |
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Country of origin | Jamaica |
Introduced | 1944 |
Alcohol by volume | 35% |
Proof (US) | 70 (Original) |
Colour | Golden |
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Related products | List of rum producers |
Website | captainmorgan.com |
In 1984, Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum was introduced to the United States.[2] On April 15, 2005, Captain Morgan Tattoo Black Spiced rum and its mysterious 'sweet-to-heat' finish became the newest addition to the Captain Morgan Family. Captain Morgan was, by volume, the second largest brand of spirits in the United States, and the seventh largest worldwide in 2007. In 2007[update], 7.6 million 9-litre cases were sold. Most Captain Morgan rum is sold in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, and Global Travel.[3]
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$10,000 (equivalent to $12,631 in 2021) 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.[4]
In 2010 two American territories, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands bickered over plans for Captain Morgan to move operations to the Virgin Islands for tax reasons.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7] Diageo Canada won the lawsuit in 2017.[8]
In 2020, the brand launch a new product called Captain Morgan Tiki. This new pineapple mango flavors rum is available in the United Kingdom, Australia, the Czech Republic and Germany.[9]
Before and after the 2015 SummerSlam event, John Cena used the brand as a nickname for Seth Rollins (the WWE World Heavyweight Champion) on WWE's Monday Night Raw show.[12][13] In 2016, Diageo created special limited edition bottles to commemorate Wes Morgan captaining Leicester City F.C. to the 2015-16 Premier League title.[14]
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!
John: "do I have a match against Captain Morgan ... at Night of Champions ... for the United States Championship?" Stephanie: "Yes."
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