Brilio.net/en - Captain Morgan
In the 17th century, Morgan was a feared privateer. Not only did the Welsh pirate marry his own cousin, he ran dangerous missions for the governor of Jamaica, including capturing Spanish prisoners in Cuba and raiding Port-au-Prince in Haiti. He then held the entire city of Portobelo, Panama for ransom after plundering the Cuban coast. His pillaging career didnt come to an end until Spain and England signed a peace treaty in 1671. Instead of being punished for his overseas antics, Morgan became a knight and lieutenant governor of Jamaica.
Johnnie Walker
Walker was born in 1805 in Ayrshire, Scotland. He inherited a trust in 1819 when his father died and invested in a grocery store. He then became a very successful grocer in the town of Kilmarnock and even sold a whisky, Walkers Kilmarnock Whisky. Johnnies son Alexander was the one who led them to whisky fame, however. He spent time in Glasgow learning how to make tea, but he eventually took over the grocery store from his father. He dropped the tea and switched to whisky, and came up with Old Highland Whisky, which became Johnnie Walker Black Label.
Jack Daniel's
Jasper Newton Jack Daniel was the descendent of Welsh settlers who came to the US in the early 19th century. Born in 1846 or 1850, he was one of 13 children. By 1866 he was distilling whiskey in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Unfortunately, he had quite the temper. One morning in 1911 Daniel went to work early and couldnt get his safe open. He blew up and kicked it, which injured his toe so badly that it became infected. The infection soon turned to blood poisoning, which killed the whiskey giant. In case you were wondering why your JD bottle also has Lem Motlow as the distillerys proprietor, its because Daniels busy life of attacking safes and distilling kept him from marrying, and he never had an heir. So, in 1907 he gave the distillery to his favorite nephew Lem Motlow, who had been working for him as a bookkeeper.
Charles Tanqueray
When he was young, Charles Tanquerays life path seemed pretty straightforward. He came from 3 generations of Bedfordshire clergymen, so it was only natural that he would follow suit. But he didnt. Instead, he began making gin in 1830 in a little plant in London. By 1847 he was shipping his gin to colonies in the British Empire, where many plantation owners and troops grew to love gin and tonic.
Gaspare Campari
By the time Gaspare Campari was 14, he was already a master drink mixer in Turin. When he settled on the perfect mixture for an aperitif, his concoction had over 60 ingredients. In 1860, he founded Gruppo Campari to make his trademark bitters in Milan. Unsurprisingly, the recipe is a closely guarded secret supposedly known by only the acting Gruppo Campari chairman, who works with a tiny group of employees to make the concentrate with which alcohol and water are infused to get Campari.