Captain Morgan Spiced Rum

Putting the Caribbean back on the Drinking Map

 

Captain Morgan Spiced Rum is a Caribbean rum. It is not the one with the highest proof or the one with the fanciest bottle. What it is, is spiced and well made, ready to drink rum that is generally had with coke over ice. The rum is named after a Caribbean privateer from the seventeenth century, Sir Henry Morgan. The rum first appeared in 1944 when the Seagram Company started manufacturing it under the name of Captain Morgan Rum Company. The whole thing started when the Seagram Company bought a distillery from the Jamaican government. The distillery manufactured and sold raw rum and among its clients was a pharmacy that bought the raw rum product, added some medicinal spices and herbs to it and then bottled and sold it. The CEO of the Seagram Company liked the rum based product so much that he bought the rights for producing it.

 

Captain Morgan Spiced Rum was introduced in the United States in 1984. It is by volume the second largest rum sold in the United States. Like most Caribbean rums, Captain Morgan Rum is produced from sugar canes. Its characteristic flavor depends on many things that include the yeast used in the fermentation process, the distillation method and the aging and blending processes. The taste of the rum is a closely guarded secret. It comes from a proprietary recipe which uses the spices that grow in the Caribbean. These spices are blended in to the rum at the final stages of its production.

 

Usually coke and ice is the way to go with the Captain Morgan Spiced Rum. However, one of the best drinks made with this rum uses 100% pineapple juice, mixed with the rum and served on ice. On paper, the drink seems pretty icky but it is one of the most enjoyed flavors of the Caribbean.