became the lieutenant governor of Jamaica . Mental Floss : 5 drinking stories that put yours to shame 2 . Johnnie Walker Walker , the name behind the world 's most popular brand of Scotch whisky , was born in 1805 in Ayrshire , Scotland . When his father died in 1819 , Johnnie inherited a trust of a little over 400 pounds , which the trustees invested in a grocery store . Walker became a very successful grocer in the town of Kilmarnock and even sold a whisky , Walker 's Kilmarnock Whisky . Johnnie 's son Alexander was the one who actually turned the family into famous whisky men , though . Alexander had spent time in Glasgow learning how to blend teas , but he eventually returned to Kilmarnock to take over the grocery from his father . Alexander turned his blending expertise to whisky , and came up with `` Old Highland Whisky , '' which later became Johnnie Walker Black Label . 3 . Jack Daniel Jasper Newton `` Jack '' Daniel of Tennessee whiskey fame was the descendant of Welsh settlers who came to the United States in the early 19th century . He
-LRB- Mental Floss -RRB- -- It 's hard to walk down the aisle of a liquor store without running across a bottle bearing someone 's name . A costumed reveler at a Captain Morgan party celebrates the rum named after the 17th century privateer . We put them in our cocktails , but how well do we know them ? Here 's some biographical detail on the men behind your favorite tipples : 1 . Captain Morgan The Captain was n't always just the choice of sorority girls looking to blend spiced rum with Diet Coke ; in the 17th century he was a feared privateer . Not only did the Welsh pirate marry his own cousin , he ran risky missions for the governor of Jamaica , including capturing some Spanish prisoners in Cuba and sacking Port-au-Prince in Haiti . He then plundered the Cuban coast before holding for ransom the entire city of Portobelo , Panama . He later looted and burned Panama City , but his pillaging career came to an end when Spain and England signed a peace treaty in 1671 . Instead of getting in trouble for his high-seas antics , Morgan received knighthood and