Seagram’s CEO, Samuel Bronfman, bought the Jamaican distillery Long Pond from the Jamaican government. The distillery’s clients included a Kingstong pharmacy named Levy Brothers, which produced a rum flavoured with herbs and spices. Bronfman liked the recipe and bought the rights to it. In 1944, Seagram released Captain Morgan, named after Sir Henry Morgan, a Welsh 17th century privateer who was honoured and named Governor of Jamaica near the end of his life. When taxes were lowered in the US on products from Porto Rico, Seagram moved production to a new distillery in San Juan. In 2001, the brand was sold to Diageo, which now produces Captain Morgan in a new distillery in Sainte-Croix in the Virgin Islands. Introduced to the United States in 1984, Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum is one of the highest-selling rums in the world, particularly in English-speaking countries. In addition to the best-known versions, many flavoured versions also exist, using different ageing processes, recipes, etc.

A Captain Morgan Black Label rum from the 1980s imported to Italy by René Briand in Milan. This rum was produced from Jamaican rum—highlighted on the label—as well as rums from Guyana and Barbados.