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Captain Morgan Jamaica rum
Why Does It Taste Different In Jamaica?

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Captain Morgan Jamaica RumCaptain Morgan Jamaica Rum | Diageo Group

by Venesha Johnson | Associate Writer

Have you ever heard of Captain Morgan Jamaica Rum or Captain Morgan Spiced Rum? Well,  maybe if you are from the United States or the United Kingdom you have. What might be surprising to you is that many local Jamaicans have never heard of it.

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Weird right? How is it that the name is Captain Morgan Jamaican Rum, but so many Jamaican have never seen, heard of or tasted it? The history behind this rum, or maybe it is best to say these rums since they are two separate brands that are, essentially made with the same rum. Still confused? Let me break it down for you.

Who Was Captain Morgan?

The first question you may ask is “Who is Captain Morgan, what does he have to do with Jamaican rum?” The name Captain Morgan is derived from the actual person, Captain Henry Morgan, a pirate in every sense of the word. He was notorious for rampaging through Spanish colonies, raiding, stealing from them and committing massive crimes, which he was awarded for, as he was an admiral for the Royal Navy as well.

You may have heard of the burning of Panama City, that was his doing. After raiding Panama with his men and stealing over 100,000 pounds in goods and treasures, he burnt the city to the ground. At this time, Morgan had already bought a plantation in Jamaica, as he was very wealthy.

He married his cousin, Mary Elizabeth who was the daughter of Colonel Edward Morgan, Henry’s uncle. When Colonel Morgan died, Sir Tomas Modyford became the new governor of Jamaica and he and Henry Morgan became great friends. Later on, because of his successful raids, Modyford named Morgan vice-admiral of the Jamaican fleet.

However, Morgan was sent back to England to await trial for burning Panama city and piracy. Unbeknown to him, at the time of his attack, England and Spain had signed a peace treaty.

Nothing came of this trial though, it didn't even take place. He had carried out so many tasks for England he was instead awarded, honoured by the king and given the title of deputy governor of Jamaica, then Lieutenant Governor in 1675.

At the time of his death in 1688, he had 3 plantations including a huge sugar plantation in Jamaica, an exorbitant amount of wealth and over 100 slaves. He was buried in the Palisadoes cemetery in port royal, which sank due to the earthquake in 1692.

The History Of Captain Morgan Jamaica Rum

So Captain Morgan Rum indeed started in Jamaica back in 1943. It was originally owned by Seagrams Company Ltd which is headquartered in Canada. They opened a Captain Morgan Distillery in Long Pond Estate, Trelawny, Jamaica.

Seagrams later gave up on Captain Morgan and sold the distillery. The distillery was sold in parts to both J. Wray and Nephew (which is now owned by the Campari Group, producers of the popular Appleton Rum) and Diageo Plc, owners of over 50 alcoholic brands like Smirnoff Vodka, Ciroc, Crown Royal Whiskey and has its headquarters in London, England.

So this leaves us with an international version of the rum and a local version, both with the same name and an extremely similar cartoonish depiction of Captain Henry Morgan. The Jamaican version of the Captain Morgan rum is produced solely in Jamaica and is only available in Jamaica.

The Campari Group has sole ownership for the trademark in Jamaica, so the Diageo Plc version cannot be sold on the island and the Campari Group cannot export their version.

On the other hand the Diageo Plc version with their slogan “live, love, loot” is produced in large quantities in the US Virgin Islands, selling millions of cases globally each year, especially in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Their version of the Captain Morgan rum is a blend of Jamaican, Barbadian and Guyanese rum.

However, there is a darker version of their Captain Morgan rum that is mainly sold in the United States that contains no Jamaican rum.

Despite having the same name, they seem to have very distinct tastes, while you won’t find them easily there are few reviews of the Jamaican version of Captain Morgan, the description of its taste is completely different from Diageo's version. Have you tried either one?

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References & Sources For Captain Morgan Jamaica Rum

  1. Famous Pirate: Henry Morgan, http://www.thewayofthepirates.com/famous-buccaneers/henry-morgan/  
  2. The Real Captain Morgan. More than just a man on a bottle | by Jordan Fearn | History of Yesterday, https://historyofyesterday.com/the-real-captain-morgan-9c4d801f7887  
  3. The messy J'can legacy of Captain Morgan rum | Business | Jamaica Gleaner, https://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20131115/business/business4.html#:~:text=Diageo's%20Captain%20Morgan%20products%20are, Town%20Road%2C%22%20said%20Bogues.
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